Then Lightning Strikes
by Midnight Custard
Summary: After getting hit by lightning, Hikaru wakes up in a cottage. He is surrounded by the Host Club, but no one knows who he is. Is it a dream? If it is, then he doesn't want to wake up. Hikaru/Kaoru  Alternative Universe
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! **

**Well, I've always loved adventurous stories, magic and heroic deeds, so I just couldn't wait any longer. This is my new story, it's very different from my previous ones, but I hope you will enjoy it anyway. **

**To you who are patiently waiting for a continuation of "Shadows in the attic" and "The king of shadows and his small devils", I am terribly sorry. I don't know how to continue "Shadows in the attic" right now, so I will take a pause with that story. "The king of shadows and his small devils" will be continued as soon as I find the motivation. I have recently started University, so I have some things going on… Again, I'm sorry. But don't despair, I will continue, someday!**

**I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, it belongs to the genius Bisco Hatori.**

**Also, this is very sad in the beginning, but don't let it bring you down, everything will get better and this is NOT a tragedy.**

**O-O-O-O-O**

The graveyard was grimly quiet. Only the gravel crackled as heavy feet walked down the narrow path. The last, feeble rays of the descending sun fell on auburn hair, making it glow a fiery red. Ignorant of the wet grass, the lonesome teen fell to his knees in front of a beautiful, white tombstone.

"Kaoru."

Quivering hands reached forward to place the brought flowers among the many others decorating the grave. Sighing deeply, Hikaru leant forward and placed his forehead against the smooth stone.

"Oh Kaoru, I miss you so much."

Glittering teardrops ran down the grave, leaving wet trails over the carved name. Four months had passed, four terrible months since Kaoru had closed his eyes to never open them again. There was nothing anyone could have done to stop it, the cancer had been incurable.

Crying silently and wrapping his arms around the grave, Hikaru didn't notice the dark storm clouds gathering above his head.

Unfortunate, the doctors had said and the newspapers had read. How unfortunate that such a promising, healthy, young man had been taken by the rare disease. And just seventeen years old too, just a boy really.

Hikaru could see Kaoru's tired but warm eyes in his head, and could feel his cold hand as he held onto Hikaru's.

"_Please Hikaru, promise me you continue living? Don't let this ruin the rest of your life. I'm so sorry, I love you."_

"I promise…" Hikaru whispered to the cold stone, gently stroking the white marble. He was so sorry he had made that promise to his twin. Now he couldn't break it. Hikaru had stood in front of the mirror countless of times since Kaoru's death, grasping the razorblade tightly in his hand, ready to slit his wrists. Every time his brother's calm voice had appeared in his head, reminding him of that fatal promise.

Ominous rumbling echoed over the empty cemetery and Hikaru closed his eyes as raindrops started pouring down, washing away his tears. He should really get home… It was getting dark and the storm was worsening by the minute. Strangely, Hikaru had always enjoyed thunderstorms, and loved the adrenaline kick that came from seeing a lightning strike.

Hikaru was already late. He was supposed to be at Tamaki's in ten minutes. The first two month after Kaoru's death Hikaru had spent locked up in his room, in an attempt to block out the rest of the world. His parents had soon learnt to let him be. Then Tamaki came, as usual. He brought the Host Club, light and friendship into Hikaru's dark world. Finally Hikaru was able to leave his room and go back to school. He owed so much to Tamaki.

The world flashed white for a millisecond and the sky roared menacingly. Hikaru, half blinded by the lightning, released his twin's grave and stood up in the pouring rain.

"I have to go Kaoru, I'll come back tomorrow!" He shouted over the thunder, smiling shakily at the tombstone. The grave stood silent, unyielding and unforgiving in the hard wind. Stroking wet bangs out of his eyes, Hikaru peered up towards the dark sky.

Then he saw it. As in slow motion, a lightning freed itself from the dark clouds and shot down towards him. He was going to get hit. Closing his eyes, Hikaru reached his arms towards the sky and laughed.

"I'm coming Kaoru!"

The powerful lightning hit the laughing youth and for a moment all went white. When the darkness crept back, the white marble grave was alone. Hikaru was no longer there.

O-O-O-O-O

"_Wake up. Come on now, I know you can do it."_

A voice. Distant, but there. All burned, his head was on fire. What had happened? He couldn't remember… Hikaru groaned and slowly opened his eyes. White. Everything was white. But there was someone there.

"Ugh, where, who?"

He felt a soft hand on his forehead, bathing it with a damp cloth. Slowly the whiteness dissolved and Hikaru could make out two large, brown eyes staring curiously into his own.

"Haruhi?"

The girl smiled gently and nodded. "Yeah that's me."

"Where am I?" Hikaru saw the weird dress Haruhi was wearing and frowned. "And what are you wearing? Are you cosplaying?"

Haruhi looked confused. "What is cosplaying? Never mind… You yourself are wearing very odd clothes, who are you?"

Hikaru's frown grew deeper and he tried to sit up. Immediately small but definite hands pushed him down on the bed again.

"No, stay down. Really, you look exactly like Kaoru, but I know you're not him."

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Hikaru was getting really angry. "Of course I'm not Kaoru, he's dead. Dead!" He screamed in Haruhi's face, making her jump slightly.

"But… No, what do you mean?" She asked, biting her lip.

What was this? A twisted game? But since when was Haruhi such a good actor? And how in the world did he get here in the first place, wasn't he just visiting Kaoru's grave? Head spinning with questions, Hikaru sighed deeply.

"Really funny Haruhi. I'm Hikaru, you know that." The slender girl gasped and her eyes widened dramatically.

"You can't be… He died."

"What the hell is going on? Kaoru died, not me! This is not funny so just cut this shit right now!" Hikaru roared, sitting up in the bed and glaring at Haruhi.

"What is going on in here?" The Host Club king ran into the room, but froze and gaped when he saw Hikaru. Also he wore a funny dress and his hair was longer and up in a ponytail. He was joined by Kyouya, Mori and Honey. All were in weird clothes and stared at Hikaru as they had just seen a ghost. Hikaru stared back and shook his head.

"Are you all cosplaying? And where are we? Stop staring at me!"

Tamaki looked at Hikaru suspiciously and turned to Haruhi, who was sitting next to him in a chair. "Who is this, love? And why does he look exactly like Kaoru?"

"I'm Hikaru! HIKARU! Stop this joke now, it's not funny!"

Breathing heavily, Hikaru looked around at his friends with tears in his eyes. Then he heard it. The voice he had longed to hear for so long.

"Keep it down will you? You're awakening the whole village." A fifth person stepped into the room. Golden eyes met with Hikaru's and the older twin stared in awe.

"Kaoru?"

**O-O-O-O-O**

**If it caught your interest please leave a review! They really make a girl happy… ^^**

**/Midnight Custard**


	2. Chapter 2

**First, thank you so much for the great response for the first chapter! It motivated me even further and that's why I'm now making my fastest ever update to a chapter story ^^.**

**I don't own Ouran High School Host Club. I do own the kingdom, village and Emperor. They are children of my imagination.**

**This is fantasy and magic. I have no experience of parallel universe-travelling or the other slightly odd things going on in this story.**

**O-O-O-O-O**

Hikaru was in shock. The young man in the door was the exact image of his twin. Well, if you overlooked the weird clothes and that he had his red hair in a long ponytail. All the others in the room watched intently as the twins stared at each other.

"Kaoru…"

Kaoru's eyes turned dark and menacing. He swiftly strode through the room, coming up next to Hikaru's bed. Sharp metal flashed and before Hikaru could blink he was pressed down roughly on the bed, with a long sword against his throat.

"Wha.. Hey!" He squeaked, gulping as he felt cold steel against his skin.

"Kaoru! Stop!" Haruhi protested, glaring angrily.

Kaoru didn't acknowledge her. Instead he leant down over Hikaru, looking him over with cold eyes.

"Who are you and why are you pretending to be Hikaru?"

"I'm not bloody pretending! I am Hikaru!" Hikaru growled, but quietened down when Kaoru pressed harder with the sword. "Please, I'm telling the truth." He begged. "I have no idea what's going on. I was by your grave when I got hit by lightning and then I woke up here. This is probably a really fucked up dream, but please Kaoru, please. I AM Hikaru, I promise." Hikaru was on his way to tears, there was just too many emotions at the same time.

"Let him go Kaoru." Tamaki had stepped up to the twins and put a hand on Kaoru's shoulder.

Kaoru snorted, but removed the weapon from Hikaru and pushed it back inside the scabbard. "Are you believing this deceiver Tono? You can't seriously think he's my twin."

"I don't know what I believe anymore. All this is terribly confusing." Tamaki looked disappointedly at Kaoru. "But I do know that it's terribly rude to threaten your guests like that."

Hikaru gaped as Tamaki and his twin argued back and forth. Kaoru was alive. Scary, mad and with a sword, but alive. This had to be a dream… But if it was, he really didn't want to wake up.

"Hika-chan? Is he really Hika-chan?"

"No he isn't!"

"Kaoru, I really think he is. No one could make a disguise that good."

The rest of the "Host Club" had joined the argumentation and they all stood gathered around Hikaru, chattering excitedly and giving the bedridden twin a headache. Only Kyouya was quiet. He was watching Hikaru with calm, calculating eyes. Hikaru noticed that he didn't have his glasses. Finally, Kyouya spoke.

"Quiet." Immediately everyone stopped talking and turned to Kyouya.

"This is Hikaru."

Never before had Hikaru been so glad to hear Kyouya speak, and he smiled towards the older boy, grateful.

"And how, if you don't mind me asking, is that possible?" Kaoru asked sharply, brushing long bangs out of his eyes with an irritated swipe.

"I guess you've all heard about parallel universes?" All, even Kaoru, nodded. "Well, this is Hikaru. From another universe."

Hikaru couldn't believe his ears, this was insane! He was just about to tell Kyouya to check in at a madhouse when he noticed that all the others seemed to take the shadow king's words seriously. Tamaki frowned and took a deep breath.

"So… This person comes from another world? How did he get here?"

Kyouya sighed and rubbed his temple. "There are some things I haven't told you about. After that disastrous fight, I started studying parallel universes and how to travel between them. I found out that it's possible to transport a strong elemental person using his power source. But it's very hard and dangerous magic, if it goes wrong the transported person can get stuck in between universes in a nothingness. Anyway, some weeks ago I tried a complicated, dark-power spell and apparently it worked."

Haruhi chuckled, obviously relieved. "Couldn't you have told us this at once senpai? You really should let us know when you experiment with dangerous magic…"

"Whoa wait just a minute…" Hikaru's head was spinning. "Elemental person? Power source? Magic?" He just couldn't control himself anymore. "HAHA! Oh hihi this must be the most haha mental thing I've ever heard!"

The "Host Club" watched the stranger cautiously, as he lay guffawing and crying, clasping his stomach tightly.

"Haru-chan, is he okay?" Honey asked, worry apparent in huge, childish eyes.

"Hehe I'm fine." Hikaru chuckled, desperately trying to calm down. "This doesn't make any sense. I'm dreaming. If I'm not, then I've must completely lost my mind…"

"This most certainly isn't a dream, and I don't believe you have gone mad, but I guess travelling between universes might be a bit confusing." Kyouya pondered, writing something down in a small, brown book.

"A bit confusing huh… More like brain-muddling." Hikaru shook his head.

Suddenly he had both Tamaki and Honey jumping up on the bed and hugging him enthusiastically.

"Hika-chan is back!"

"Oh thank you mighty heavens, for bringing my eldest son back!"

In the middle of hugging back, laughing and half-heartedly trying to push them off, Hikaru's gaze locked with Kaoru's again. His younger twin looked upset, almost on the verge of tears, but when Hikaru smiled happily towards him, his eyes went cold again. Without a word, Kaoru turned on his heels and stormed out.

The fizzy and happy feeling in his stomach disappeared and Hikaru suddenly felt cold and empty.

"Kaoru…"

The rest of the Host Club exchanged sad glances, and Tamaki and Honey got off of the bed.

"Don't mind him." Haruhi had grasped his shoulder and smiled warmly towards Hikaru. "This is hard for him. Four months ago our Hikaru was killed. Kaoru hasn't been himself since."

Hikaru stared at the petite girl. Four months ago… That was when his Kaoru died. What a coincidence.

Haruhi petted his hair gently. "Just give him some time, he'll get around. I'll bring you a glass of water, you must be thirsty." She got up and headed to the other side of the room. Hikaru gasped and stared at his friend. There was a round lump on Haruhi's stomach. He couldn't believe his eyes. Why didn't he see it earlier?

"Eh Haruhi? Are you pregnant?"

Haruhi dropped the glass and turned a bright red, Tamaki turned even redder, and Honey started to giggle. Mori walked over to Haruhi and started cleaning up the mess.

"Yes… I'm in the sixth month." She whispered, pouring up water in a second glass.

"No way! And Tono is the father?" Hikaru glared accusingly at Tamaki. "You pervert! She is only seventeen years old, what's wrong with you?"

Tamaki looked close to tears and went to hide behind Kyouya.

"Relax Hikaru, don't blame Tamaki." Haruhi's face had almost returned to it's normal colour and she gave Hikaru the glass of water. "We love each other. This is something we both wanted." Smiling happily she went to embrace the sulking king.

Hikaru frowned, but downed all the water in one giant gulp. "If, against all odds, this isn't a dream, all of this is going to take a hell of a time to get used to…"

He turned to Kyouya, sighing deeply. "Why did you bring me here? No wait, where is "here"?"

Mori had removed all of the broken glass and joined his friends at Hikaru's side. Honey brightened at Hikaru's question and hurried to explain.

"You are in our world! In a kingdom called Zenbi. Right now we're in the village Tairaka, at Haru-chan's father's house."

Hikaru chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "Well that didn't make me much wiser. And why am I here?"

"We need your help to defeat the Emperor." Kyouya stopped writing in his book and met Hikaru's eyes.

"What? Which Emperor?" Hikaru asked, confused.

Haruhi's expression darkened. "The emperor Raikou. He is a cruel tyrant who kills and maims innocent people. He has turned Zenbi into a hell."

"Raikou is a very mean man, isn't he Takashi?"

"Mm." Mori grunted in agreement.

Hikaru groaned in frustration, starting to feel pretty distressed. "And what makes you think that I could bring down a guy like that?"

"Because you are the only one in the entire kingdom who can." For once, Tamaki was completely serious. It scared Hikaru. "Raikou is your and Kaoru's uncle, and you're the only one who can kill him. Four months ago our Hikaru fought the emperor. He failed and Raikou killed him."

"I have no idea how your Hikaru was, but I am no trained assassin! Why would I be able to kill him?" Hikaru was almost shouting now, glaring at the others.

Kyouya glared back, making the poor twin crumble. "Because you have the power of electricity. You can manipulate and create lightnings and thunder."

"I can not!"

"Yes you can, or at least you will be able to if you practise." Kyouya stated calmly.

"You see, all of us have special powers!" Tamaki explained, waving his hands enthusiastically. "We are the rebel group, and it's our mission to bring down the Emperor, terminate his evil soldiers and save the people!"

If the situation had looked different, Hikaru would have snickered at the similarity between this rebel Tamaki and his own Tamaki version at home. Now he only shook his head.

"So you're basically a crossover between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Fantastic Four? Okay then, what are your powers?"

Tamaki looked confused. "Four turtles?"

"I'm not familiar with those mutants and turtles which you mentioned, but I have the ability to manipulate darkness and people's minds." Kyouya's words made Hikaru shiver in fright. Here he truly was the shadow king…

"I'm a healer. And well… I can create light too, but that's not very useful." Haruhi muttered, looking a bit disappointed with her power.

Tamaki embraced her and kissed her head. "Don't be silly love. Light is what makes it possible for us to live you know." He smiled at Hikaru. "My power is the power of the wind!"

Hikaru raised one eyebrow. "So you can fly then?"

Tamaki pondered the question. "Well no, more like float, and it's very hard and straining." Hikaru could see it clearly, Tamaki floating around in Ouran's corridors, throwing rose-petals over the unsuspecting students. He giggled.

"What about you Mori?"

"The earth."

"He can manipulate plants and such." Kyouya explained further.

"Yes." Mori nodded.

"Hika-chan! Guess what I can do?" Honey beamed

"Do you really need a superpower?" Hikaru mumbled. "Isn't it enough to be a martial arts champion and have the power to eat an unending amount of cake?"

Honey shook his head. "We all know martial arts Hika-chan. And I can control and create fire!"

"Wow… That's really great guys." Hikaru said dryly. "And I am some sort of thunder god, right?"

"Kyouya, I don't think he believes us…" Tamaki whined and wrapped his arms around the dark-haired boy.

Honey jumped up in Hikaru's lap and extended his hand. "Look here!"

The small boy's palm started to glow a soft red. Mesmerized, Hikaru stared as a small flame emerged from Honey's hand. The flame danced merrily and Hikaru could feel the heat on his cheeks.

The rebel group looked on as their new Hikaru stared at the fire, pinched himself hard, stared some more and then abruptly lost consciousness. Honey gasped and the fire disappeared at once.

"Ah Hika-chan! I'm sorry, please wake up!" He sobbed. Mori picked up the smaller boy and tried to comfort him.

Tamaki was as upset as Honey. "My son! Please, don't take my son from me, again!"

"Everybody calm down." Haruhi held a hand against Hikaru's forehead. "He's alright. Just fainted that's all." She smiled tenderly and covered the exhausted boy with a blanket. "And can we blame him? He probably doesn't have magic at all in his world."

She turned to the other boys and started to shoo them out. "Hikaru needs a good night's sleep, and so does you. It's late."

After she had succeeded in getting all the boys out, Haruhi sat down next to Hikaru and watched over him.

_It's good if he can get some sleep… Tomorrow will be a long day._

O-O-O-O-O

The village Tairaka was asleep. It was a quiet night, the only noise coming from a pair of owls, far up in a tall tree. Darkness lay thick over the cottages, but from one small hut at the far end of the village, light still streamed out from the windows. All was still. Then, a shadow emerged from the forest and made it's way swiftly but soundlessly towards the lit cottage. It sneaked up to the opened window and peered inside.

Kyouya sat in front of the fire, reading from the thick spell-book. Without taking his eyes from the book he raised his hand and waved.

"I know you're there Kaoru. Come in."

"I'm already in."

Kyouya turned around and smiled. Kaoru stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

"You're getting good at that."

Kaoru smirked. "Well yeah, I'm not an assassin for nothing you know."

Kyouya returned to the book. "Where have you been?"

"Just in the neighbour village. The Emperor's soldiers are there, plundering the farmers storages."

"Mm I know. How many did you get rid off?"

Kaoru snorted. "Only five. The rest were too observant."

"Pity."

Silence. The fire crackled contently and painted dancing patterns on the walls.

"Why did you bring him here?" Kaoru's voice was quiet, sad.

"Because he is Hikaru, whether you like it or not, and he will be able to master the power of your Hikaru. He is our only hope Kaoru." Kyouya turned and met tired, amber eyes.

"Hikaru mastered that power. He was so strong. Unbeatable. Still Raikou killed him." Fists clenched and voice filled with venom, Kaoru took a step towards Kyouya. "So what makes you think that that worthless, fake, brat will succeed?"

"It's the only alternative we have!" Kyouya snarled, getting up from his chair.

"Let me kill Raikou." Kaoru said, longing evident in his gaze.

Kyouya sighed deeply. "You can't and you know it. He'd fry you on spot. Remember, he hates you as much as you hates him. You killed his twin after all."

The redhead lowered his eyes. "I wish he would've killed me too." He turned and headed back towards the window, long hair swishing on his back.

"Kaoru, I think that having him here might help you regain your powers. You haven't been able to use them since Hikaru died and we're going to need them to fight down the Emperor and his servants. Also, feel free to use the door."

Kaoru said nothing, but climbed through the window and disappeared as quickly as he'd arrived.

**O-O-O-O-O**

**Still confused? I'll explain things more further on ^^**

**Some facts:**

**Zenbi = Perfection**

**Tairaka = Peaceful**

**Raikou = Lightning**

**Kaoru's ponytail is property of my dear friend El Linjo, who insisted on him having hair to his waist when we talked about this story. **

**Answer to KuroPika X: I'm very sorry about my other stories :/, but they'll be continued later on! And I'm very happy you liked this ^^. I wrote al long chapter, didn't I? :D Do I get a cookie now? Thank you dear! Hugs Custard**

**Answer to lotlot: Haha I understand you're confused, I almost am too XD. But I hope this chapter made it a bit more clear! Actually I'm not that big fan of fantasy in general, but I love LOTR and also like Harry Potter. I really love adventure and wars and fighters and stuff XD. Thank you so much for reviewing lottie! Not tired of me yet? ^^ Hugs Custard**

**Answer to YagamiNeko: Thank you! Yeah it's kind of different, isn't it? Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! Hugs Custard**

**Answer to Merry: It's good you kept positive, me myself sat crying like a baby ^^. Oh you like the laughing? Great! I was a bit unsure on that part really… Hihi I'm so happy you liked it! Or did you? :s Haha, I can pretend at least. They are not in Rivendell when Frodo wakes up after the quest, aren't they in Ithilien? But I'm happy you got such a nice feeling. Hope you found this chapter bearable ^^. Do you want hugs? Maybe a real one instead ^^**

**Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think!**

**/Midnight Custard**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Here is the third chapter of "Then Lightning Strikes". **

**I'd like to thank my new beta for helping me with the story, thank you Smoth3rd!**

**For you who've read "Shadows in the Attic", my friend has drawn Kaoru in his "university style", I didn't get that far but he was supposed to have glasses further on in the story ^^. Here is the link: **

**http: / darkcustard. deviantart . com /#/d49k59z (without spaces between the words)**

**My dear friend, El Linjo, introduced me to Ouran in the first place and helps me with ideas to stories. If not for her, my stories wouldn't exist.**

**I do not own Ouran, it belongs to Bisco Hatori.**

**O-O-O-O-O**

Hikaru woke up to the sound of birds chirping. Groaning, he turned over on his back and opened his eyes. Sunrays fell in through the window and bathed the room in a bright light. Hikaru hummed contently and stretched. He hadn't slept this good in ages! He had slept so deeply, like a rock. A blush crept over his cheeks when he remembered how he had fallen asleep. He had fainted when Honey showed him a small tuft of fire. Great… Now all the others were going to take him for a complete wimp.

Whistling softly to himself, he looked around in the room. It was quite small, with one bed, a fireplace, a table and a cabinet. All furniture was wooden and looked kind of old. And there were no electronics or lamps to be seen. This "Host Club", the rebel group, was living like really old-fashioned. But he had to admit that it was kind of cosy.

He had slept for a long time and then woken up in the same room. That probably meant that this couldn't be a dream. The fact that he was hungry also added to the reality of the situation. So, as it looked now he was trapped in a medieval world, where people could use magic and had relations to the elements. He was the chosen one, destined to face the cruel Emperor and kill him. He also had to learn how to use his awesome electricity powers. Well, he certainly was nervous for what was coming, but it would be great fun to be transformed into a cool magical fighter. Other things, like to see Tamaki "float", would make for nice little bonuses. And of course, there was Kaoru. His twin didn't seem to like him much, but it meant so much for Hikaru just to see his brother again. A hostile, angry Kaoru was still so much better than no Kaoru at all. Hikaru couldn't picture a worse feeling than the hopeless emptiness, which had festered in his heart and consumed him since his twin's death. Hopefully this rebel Kaoru would cool down eventually. Haruhi had said he just needed some time.

Getting up from the bed, he noticed one of those weird dress things hanging on a chair in the room. Well, his old clothes were getting rather unfresh. Shrugging, Hikaru shed his t-shirt and jeans and changed into the robe-like garment. It was heavy, but the fabric was smooth and very comfortable. The robe was in his favourite colour, a dark blue. It reminded Hikaru of the costumes they wore when they were cosplaying samurais.

Feeling a bit silly in his new clothes, Hikaru floated over to the opened door and peered outside. There was a long corridor on the other side of the door. Haruhi's and Ranka's house… It seemed to be quite a big place. Listening attentively he heard clattering and voices from the opening at the end of the corridor. His whole body tense, Hikaru sneaked towards the sound, being careful to not make any noise. Then, right at the doorpost, he stumbled on the long fabric of his robe. Swearing loudly he blatantly fell right into the room, which proved to be a kitchen.

"Oh good morning Hikaru. Did you get a good night's sleep?" Haruhi, who had been standing over a big cauldron on the hearth, turned and smiled towards him.

"Yeah." Hikaru mumbled, sheepishly getting back up on his feet.

Haruhi chuckled lightly and turned back to her cooking. "Great! Why don't you sit down with Tamaki? Breakfast will be ready in a minute."

Hikaru nodded slowly and went to sit down with Tamaki at the table. The blonde sat reading a letter, frowning deeply.

"Morning Tono, what are you reading?"

Tamaki removed his eyes from the letter and folded it. "Good morning to you too, oh universe-traveller." He sighed deeply. "Yesterday evening our neighbour village was raided by the Emperor's soldiers. They plundered houses, lit some on fire and abused the farmers." Hikaru had never seen Tamaki look so troubled. "They didn't leave the village before someone showed up and killed some of their own. After that they retreated and left them in peace. The villagers didn't see who it was who scared the soldiers off, but I have my suspicions." The king's lips curved slightly in a sad smile. "Anyway, this is a letter asking for help to rebuild their homes and for food. Ranka is already on his way with some of Tairaka's citizens."

Hikaru twisted nervously in his chair, he didn't really know what to say. "Eh okay, are the others also helping the neighbour village?"

"No no, they are preparing your training!" The troubled expression was erased from Tamaki's face and he beamed, clearly excited.

Hikaru paled. "My training…?"

"Yes, to become a rebel, like us!"

Haruhi walked over to them, carrying three bowls. "There you go! I hope you like porridge Hikaru."

Hikaru put on a fake smile and nodded. He hated porridge, but didn't dare to say so when surrounded by magicians. Ignoring the sticky goo for the time being, he studied his friends as they ate. Both looked very similar to how they looked in his world. Tamaki had slightly longer hair, but Haruhi had her usual short locks. The biggest difference was Haruhi's round stomach. Hikaru couldn't stop staring at it. Poor kid, to have Tamaki as father…

"I see you found the robe I put in your room, good! It looks good on you!" Haruhi chattered happily. "And eat your porridge now…"

The redhead made a sour face, but started to eat.

"So son, are you excited for today?"

"Yeah I guess…" Hikaru mumbled. He frowned. "But there is something I don't quite understand. Why is my power the only one able to kill the Emperor?"

Tamaki and Haruhi looked nervously at each other.

"Well…" Haruhi sighed. "It's more like your power will stop the Emperor from killing YOU."

Seeing Hikaru's confused face, Tamaki continued. "Raikou has the same power as you, so you're immune against his attacks. Raikou is very powerful, and can kill the strongest, bravest man in the blink of an eye." He smiled. "That's what makes you so important Hikaru."

Hikaru looked terrified. "Now you're telling me I can't kill the guy?"

"Not with your magic no, but you will be able to resist his lightning power long enough to kill him in the traditional way." Haruhi chuckled, uncomfortable.

"No way! Why can't one of you guys kill him with your magic? Or why don't you let another person with electricity powers kill him? I'm no fighter! Hell, I don't even know anything about magic power!"

Tamaki shook his head slowly. "No, none of our powers are strong enough to kill him. He would electrocute us before we'd get the chance to use them. And there are no other people with your power. There are only you and Raikou. Persons with magical powers don't grow on trees exactly."

"Ugh, I just can't grasp this…" Hikaru groaned and lowered his head into his hands.

Haruhi put a hand on his shoulder. "I understand this must be hard for you, but we really need your help. Otherwise the Emperor will destroy us all."

At that, Hikaru looked up and met sad, brown eyes. He was suddenly filled with a fierce protectiveness over his friends. Golden eyes hardened in determination. "I'll do my best."

The blonde threw himself over the smaller boy with a whoop. "Thank god! I'm so happy you want to help us, oh my honorable son!" Tamaki sobbed while clinging to Hikaru's neck.

"Yeah yeah… Whatever." Hikaru mumbled, blushing. Haruhi helped him to untangle Tamaki, but also she gave him a tight hug. When the emotional outbreak was over, the breakfast continued. Tamaki and Haruhi were talking about "rebel stuff" and Hikaru tried to force some more of the porridge into his stomach. After some minutes, Kyouya stepped in through the front door.

"Ah Hikaru, good morning." He greeted. "Haruhi, Tamaki." He nodded politely to the other two. Hikaru frowned, it was so unfamiliar to see Kyouya without the glasses. He silently wondered if the dark-haired boy could see anything at all without them.

"Are you finished with your breakfast? We're ready to start with your training."

Hikaru glanced at his half-eaten porridge, nodded to Kyouya and stood up. "Thank you Haruhi, eh I guess I'll see you two later?"

Haruhi brushed her brown hair out of her face and smiled. "Sure you will. Now go with Kyouya, he'll take care of you." Somehow, Hikaru kind of doubted that…

Anyway, he followed Kyouya out of the door. Stepping out in the bright sunlight was kind of a shock to Hikaru. He felt the light breeze tousle his hair and breathed fresh air into his nose. The village of Tairaka was quite small, with just two dozens of cottages. Amazed, Hikaru stared at the small, wooden huts and the farmers and cattle strolling down the narrow main street. This was as far from the Hitachiin mansion and the fancy Ouran High School that you could possibly come.

"So I guess you don't have much experience in fighting, is that right?"

"No, not at all." Hikaru almost had to jog to keep up with Kyouya's fast pace. "If you don't count some boxing lessons in gymnastics, or playing tennis twice in a week for a few years…"

Kyouya raised one dark eyebrow. "Tennis?"

Hikaru sighed deeply. "Never mind." They walked quickly down the road, passing through Tairaka.

"Where are we going, Kyouya-senpai?"

"Not far. Just a bit into the forest. Mori and Honey are waiting for us there."

"And Kaoru…?" Hikaru asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Kyouya shook his head. "He's probably sleeping somewhere." He chuckled amused. "Your brother has a weird fondness of being up late at night."

"Oh." Hikaru was a bit disappointed.

"Never mind." Kyouya smirked. "You'll have enough to deal with with Honey and Mori for the time being." They passed the last cottage and continued to follow the road into the forest. "Honey is going to be in charge of your martial arts training and Mori will teach you how to use the sword. I'll help you get into contact with your elemental side and how to use your powers. But we need a lightning storm to train you properly. You have to be charged with electricity to do lightning and thunder attacks."

Hikaru bit his lip. Charging? How would he get "charged"? In a lightning storm? That sounded dangerous… He decided to ignore it for now. "What about throwing knives and stuff? Aren't that classic ninja weapons? Cause you are ninjas, right?"

The taller boy chuckled. "Rebels, ninjas, magicians, soldiers, assassins… We're kind of a mix I guess you could say. The one who's best with the "ninja weapons" are Kaoru, he's the number one assassin. But I don't think he's likely to teach you that anytime soon."

"You don't say…" Hikaru muttered. Assassin? What was his younger brother up to?

The road had tapered down to a path and the mighty trees were closing in on them. Hikaru didn't really like trees… They were so many and tall and confusing.

"Hey Kyouya, Tamaki and Haruhi told me some things at breakfast. They said that me and Raikou have the same power and that I'm immune to his attacks."

"As well as he's immune to yours." Kyouya helpfully pointed out.

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Yes. But you've also told me that the Emperor is Kaoru's and the dead Hikaru's uncle. And the dead Hikaru (and me) and the Emperor have the same power. Why? And what happened between "your" twins and their family?"

Kyouya sighed deeply. "It's complicated. You should talk to Ranka, he could explain it to you properly. After all, it was he who took "our" twins from the palace and made them rebels."

The redhead gaped. "Ranka is the leader of the rebels?"

"He was. Now Tamaki and I have taken over. Ah look, we're there." They had come to a large open field. In the middle of it Honey and Mori waited.

"I'll make sure to talk to Ranka when he gets back. Thank you. You talk much more than what my Kyouya at home does." Hikaru grinned.

"HIKA-CHAN! KYO-CHAN!" Honey waved enthusiastically.

Hikaru took a deep breath and followed Kyouya out on the field. It was time for his training to begin.

**O-O-O-O-O**

**Quite a dull chapter, I know… Only information. But there will be more action (and Kaoru) in the next one! I'll try to have it finished soon ^^**

**Thank you all for reading and please leave a little comment!**

**Answer to Merry: Hah, now I can hug you, cause now you have a cold too! Poor Hikaru indeed… But things will get better (you know that much)! Actually, I've been quite good with my sleeping hours since I started University ^^. Write me a novel next time! Haha. Thank you troll 3**

**Answer to lotlot: Yeah I know… This is by far the most complicated and detailed story I've written. I'll do my best to succeed with it ^^, it really is so much fun to write! About Hikaru and the Emperor… I'll explain why in chapter 5! I was not as fast this time, but it's at least within a week, so I'm not too bad, right? : ) Thank you so much! Hugs Custard**

**Answer to KuroPika x: Dark magic Kyouya is kind of awesome, isn't he? ^^. Yeah water… Just wait and see sweetie ;). I'm happy you thought it was funny, I'm doing my best to balance sadness, humour, romance and adventure XD. I love to write Kyouya and Kaoru together, especially when they're being evil! I have not rated it M yet… But I'll change the rating further on ^^. Thank you for the cookies and the review! Hugs Custard**

**/Midnight Custard**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! Sorry for the last chapter, I know it was boring, but the information is necessary or you won't get the whole story!**

**I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.**

**I'm still labelling this story T-rated, but it's about to get gory, so I might change it to M.**

**Enjoy chapter number 4!**

**O-O-O-O-O**

It was night and all dark in the forest. Kaoru stood behind a great oak, completely hidden in the shadows. He attentively watched the silent camp in front, amber eyes following every move of the two guards in front of the main tent. Inside that tent his victim laid peacefully snoring. Kaoru looked up at the starry sky and smiled. It was a beautiful night. A beautiful night to kill.

He cast a wary eye at the ten other tents surrounding the main one. Every one of them was filled to the brim with guards. The Emperor's favourite "pet" was apparently careful with his security. But that wouldn't save him. It was only the two men on guard outside the pet's tent who were awake in the whole camp. Kaoru needed to take them down. Quietly.

He unhooked two small but sharp knives from his belt and took a careful step forward. The guards stood on each side of the tent opening, just one meter apart from each other. Sliding out from behind the tree he threw the knives at the same time. Metal pierced the air and the knives sunk deep into the throats of each of the men. Wide-eyed, the guards fell, gurgling as blood streamed down their necks. They were dead when they hit the ground. The assassin gracefully moved forward and got on his knees between the guards. He retrieved his knives from the men's throats and put them back in his belt. Then he rose and smoothly slipped inside the tent.

The man lay sleeping soundly on his stomach, on a bedroll in the corner. Kaoru smiled, excited. This was just too easy… Checking that the three long knives hidden beneath his left sleeve was attached properly to his arm, he crept up beside the sleeping man. He crouched down to the floor, just about to stab his weapon in the sturdy back, when the man groaned and turned on his back. Kaoru raised one eyebrow. The pet was quite handsome… A menacing smirk grew on his lips. He could have some fun with this one.

Throwing one slender leg over the sleeping man's torso, Kaoru climbed atop of him and straddled him. The man frowned briefly but didn't wake up. Kaoru leant down over the other and started to slowly kiss down his neck. When he reached the junction between throat and shoulder he bit gently. Finally he felt the man stir and how big hands slid up to rest on his waist.

"Mm?" The word was mumbled sleepily. Kaoru smiled and nibbled up the long neck, feeling goose bumps rise on the skin. The hands tightened around him.

"Wh…Who are you?"

Smooth lips brushed the shell of an ear. "I'm your worst nightmare…"

The same moment the words were uttered, long knives slid out from beneath fabric and were thrust forcefully into the neck of the poor man. The man gasped loudly and Kaoru met frightened eyes for a short second. Then life left the man and Kaoru found himself staring into open, dead eyes. Warm blood leaked out everywhere and got onto Kaoru's hands and clothes. He pulled the knives back, they were his favourite weapon after all, and rose from the bedroll.

Brushing long hair out of his face with bloody hands, he looked down at his handiwork and smiled. Mission completed. Now he just needed to get away from the camp unnoticed. He needed to hurry, new guards would probably awake to do the next shift, and then they would notice their dead comrades. Then he had to be long gone.

Kaoru got out from the tent, stepped over the dead guards and continued into the forest. He sighed and relaxed his tight muscles. Ah, he hadn't felt this good in ages. A completed assassination gave him such an adrenaline kick, almost the same as he had used to get when he and Hikaru had sex. Hikaru… Kaoru shook his head irritated. He just couldn't stand the stranger who had come to live with them. It wasn't the real Hikaru, it was some bleak, lesser copy of him. And that idiot was going to save them all… It was ridiculous! Kaoru stopped walking. He was on the verge of a cliff. Far down beneath, about fifteen to twenty meters, he could see a deep lake.

Kyouya had said that the stranger's presence in this world would help him get his powers back. Kaoru frowned. Could it really be? Kyouya usually knew what he was talking about. The moon emerged from behind a cloud and was reflected on the glittering water surface. The smooth, beautiful water hypnotized Kaoru and without noticing it he stepped closer to the edge, staring down. Well, it wouldn't hurt to try, would it? Kaoru closed his eyes and reached out his hands, skin red with dried blood. He focused on the water in the lake, trying to feel it on his fingertips. Harmony. He was one with the water. He opened his eyes and lifted his hands, motioning for the water to rise. Nothing happened. Golden eyes lowered in disappointment. The water rippled calmly in the lake, not paying any attention to him whatsoever.

Kyouya had been wrong. He would never get his powers back! They were forever lost, with Hikaru. Kaoru's lip trembled and his eyes were filled with tears. He missed him so much… Couldn't the others see how much it hurt him to be near a person who looked, smelled, talked and smiled exactly like his beloved twin, but still wasn't him? The stranger only reminded him of his loss and his guilt.

A sound. A distant snap as if someone had tensed a string and then released it. Kaoru jumped to the side in the exact moment as an arrow spiralled through the air right at the place he had just been standing. He spun around quickly. Men surrounded him on all sides, bows tensed and swords raised. Kaoru swore loudly. How could he have been so stupid? He was not hundred meters from the camp where he had just murdered three people, and he took a break to think and stare into a lake like a lovesick girl. The guards shook with anger and screamed at him as they approached slowly. Kaoru came to a decision.

Spinning around once more, he dived. Black cloth and long, red hair whipped in the air as he fell. He could hear upset voices above him and felt how arrows passed close by. Then he hit the surface and disappeared down in the black water.

O-O-O-O-O

"Ten laps around the field!"

Hikaru groaned and swiped the sweat from his forehead. This was his third day in training. It had been terrible. Mori and Honey had no mercy and seemed to enjoy making him run until he could hardly stand on his legs. And he was not only running, he had practised martial arts fighting with Honey and tried to defend himself from Mori's skilled (wooden) sword attacks. Needlessly to say, it had not gone very well. He ached all over, had bruises, cuts and scraped knees. And felt totally humiliated.

Nevertheless, he followed Honey's orders and started to run. He was happy he wasn't wearing the long, heavy kimono at least. His training clothes were similar to the robe-like garment, but were shorter, lighter and had trouser legs.

He had reached the other end of the field when he heard voices. It sounded like Tamaki and Haruhi.

"Don't you think he is extraordinary clumsy?"

And Kyouya. Hikaru frowned and listened more carefully. Why where they hiding in the bush and what were they talking about? He peered carefully to the other side of the field. Honey was sitting down to his daily "coffee break". Distracted by cake, Honey would not notice his absence and Mori was nowhere to be seen. That settled it.

The exhausted redhead sneaked closer to the ones talking, crouching down to not be seen.

"Tamaki is right Kyouya, if he haven't had any fighting training previously, he's doing great." Hikaru smiled. Bless Haruhi. He heard an irritated sigh.

"Maybe… But the progress is going too slow. Also, we need a lightning storm. I won't be able to help him discover and use his power if he isn't electrically charged."

Hikaru glared into the leaves. Kyouya didn't seem to understand it, but it actually was quite hard to transform into a skilled fighter in one day…

"Relax. Everything will turn out just fine, don't you worry! Just give it time."

"But we don't have much time Tamaki… We can't stay in Tairaka much longer."

The eavesdropper frowned. Why couldn't they stay? The other three were silent for a while. Then:

"Talking about time, where is Kaoru? I haven't seen him in days." Haruhi sounded worried, and Hikaru eagerly lent closer. He also was very interested in where his twin had gone.

"He's on a mission. The Emperor's healer was going to travel through the woods, not far from here. I sent Kaoru to track him and bring him down."

The number one assassin yeah… Hikaru couldn't picture Kaoru killing anyone, not the old one at least. This new Kaoru was still unknown territory. And how did Kyouya know about that healer's travel-plans to begin with?

"Why do you never talk with me before making these decisions? I'm the leader too, you know!" Tamaki sounded upset. "That man wasn't evil Kyouya. He was working for the Emperor sure, but he wasn't a villain, he was afraid! Was it really necessary to kill him? A healer! Like Haruhi. They are always good at heart." The king's voice had gained in strength, and Hikaru heard Haruhi trying to calm him down.

Kyouya only snorted. "There is no "good" or "evil". There are only different levels of cruelty, greed and meekness. The Emperor and all who helps him are our enemies. If we don't kill them, they'll kill us."

Another uncomfortable silence. Then Haruhi chuckled nervously.

"Yeah… Well, when do you think Kaoru will return?"

"He should be home sometime tonight, the healer was only a day's travel or so away."

"Great, then I'll leave some supper for him in the kitchen! Let's leave."

Hikaru heard the soft tramp of feet as the three started to walk away. He stayed with his face in the bush. So Kaoru lived in Haruhi's house too huh… And he was coming home tonight. He smiled. Maybe he could finally get a chance to talk to him! If he stayed up and waited in the kitchen, then…

"I see you didn't run your laps." Hikaru spun around and met Mori's displeased face. He blushed.

"Ah well you see, I was just… eh."

"If you don't want to jog, then let's practise your sword skills." Mori handed him the wooden sword and Hikaru winced, he could still feel the hits from yesterday's training.

"Now, do you remember? If I charge like this," Mori raised his own wooden weapon, a bit tinted to the left side and took a step forward.

Hikaru took a step backward, and covered his body with his sword, stopping the taller boy from hitting his chest. He smiled proudly. "Then I do like this, right?"

Mori nodded. He charged again, this time faster, and slashed his sword against Hikaru's head. Also this time the redhead avoided the attack, in the last second managing to tint his sword upwards, protecting his skull. The next attack, however, came too fast. A hard blow in his side, made Hikaru drop his sword and lose his breath. He glared at Mori and rubbed his aching hip.

"Do you have to hit me so damn hard?"

Mori just pointed to his sword on the ground. Hikaru sighed but bent and picked it up. This would be another long day…

O-O-O-O-O

It was dark outside when Kaoru came back to Tairaka. Somehow it always seemed to be dark around him; maybe it was because he liked to sleep during daytime. He dragged heavy feet up the main-street, on the way to the Fujijoka's house. Exhausted didn't even begin to cover how he was feeling. After his mess up at the lake, Kaoru had managed to escape the healer's guards. Unfortunately he had had to leave his favourite assassin's robe in the water, the cloth had turned very heavy when it became wet and had threatened to pull him down to the bottom. With the garment, he also lost his belt with all his knives. Fortunately, he had managed to hold onto the three knives attached to his arm. Not wanting to run around in the forest in nothing but his under linens, Kaoru had sneaked into the first cottage he'd encountered and grabbed a kimono. It was first later he discovered it was probably meant to be for girls. Shortly, Kaoru was not in a very good mood. Because of the stranger and his own stupidity, he had almost been killed. Not that it would have mattered much to him anyway, but still.

He went into the house quietly, careful to not wake anyone. The kitchen was dark, the fire in the hearth had long burned down. Kaoru couldn't see a thing, but he could smell something delicious. Haruhi had probably left him some supper. Kaoru smiled tiredly. He really loved the girl, who was practically his sister.

Grabbing the lantern which was placed next to the door, he lit it. At once, warm light filled the kitchen and fell on the person sitting by the table. Kaoru jumped in fright and aimed his knives at the boy.

"Relax Kaoru, it's just me." Hikaru drawled, grinning at his pale brother.

"What, how did you do that?" Kaoru spat. He lowered his weapon but glared at Hikaru.

The sitting boy only chuckled. "Nah, did I scare you? You're not the only one who's good at sneaking around you know…" He looked impudently smug. "After all, we are twins."

Kaoru snorted and went to sit down at the table too, where a bowl with some sort of stew stood waiting. Before starting to eat, he gave Hikaru a degrading glance. "You're not my twin."

Hikaru ignored his cold tone and shrugged. "Whatever you say little brother, but you have to admit that we look kind of alike."

Kaoru didn't answer, but started to eat, trying to ignore the pest at the table. Still, he couldn't help sneaking glances at the other. The stranger did indeed look exactly like Hikaru. The way his eyes sparkled when he teased and his annoying grin were the same. It made Kaoru ache inside.

Meanwhile, Hikaru sat studying Kaoru. He couldn't help but to be attracted to this new, dangerous version of his twin. Sure, Hikaru had been attracted to the old Kaoru too, but this was on a completely new level. And he kind of liked the long hair on his brother… Then the weird kimono caught Hikaru's attention. He frowned.

"Why are you wearing that? It looks kind of girlish…"

Kaoru smiled bittersweet. "Why are you bothering me instead of sleeping? You need your beauty nap."

"Hehe, touché." Hikaru chuckled. "Well, I wanted to see you. Where have you been?"

Kaoru continued to eat, and first Hikaru didn't think he'd answer him.

"I was on a mission."

"Mm, did it go well?"

"No."

Hikaru rolled his eyes, this was almost worse than trying to have a conversation with Mori. It got embarrassingly quiet, the only sound being Kaoru's hurried chews. Hikaru tried to find something else to say, he knew what he wanted to ask, but didn't quite dare. He was nervous. Suddenly Kaoru got up and took the bowl over to the sink. Then Hikaru finally spoke up.

"Kaoru, what is your power?"

The longhaired redhead turned to look at Hikaru.

"I have no power." He sighed deeply. "I used to be able to control water, but I can't do that anymore." Cold, amber eyes pierced Hikaru's. "I guess that makes me almost as useless as you." He started to head towards the door.

Hikaru felt anger bubble up inside him. Here he had trained like a maniac for days. It was hard, painful and he felt stupid, but he still had kept going. Now his twin brother was standing here, saying that he was useless. The words really hurt Hikaru. Without thinking, he rose abruptly and grabbed Kaoru's arm.

"I'm not useless."

Kaoru snatched his arm back and smiled maliciously.

"Oh no? All this training is for nothing stranger. You will never be as good as Hikaru was."

An invisible knife pierced Hikaru's heart. He was close to tears, but refused to let it show. Instead he met Kaoru's smile with an identical mean one.

"Well, if "your" Hikaru was so perfect and wonderful, then why did he die?"

Kaoru looked as if Hikaru had slapped him. Then his expression changed to one of pure rage, fists clenched tightly. But, then all emotions disappeared from his face, and he stared at Hikaru with empty eyes.

"Because of me." He said in a monotone voice. "I killed him."

Hikaru opened his mouth, but no words came out. Kaoru turned on his heel and walked out the door.

Groaning loudly, Hikaru slapped a hand over his face. Well, that went just great…

**O-O-O-O-O**

**So, finally I gave away Kaoru's power! Oh, and his weird three-knives-on-the-arm-weapon, I dedicate to Merry! (It is kind of similar to Wolverine's claws, but it's attached on the hand, not in it. Also, it's inspired by the murder-weapon from "Assassin's Creed")**

**Answer to lotlot: … I'm sorry : (, I'll be quite busy with this story for awhile now, but I haven't forgotten about the others. Information is dull yes, but I'm happy it cleared things up for you ^^, there will be more info in the next chapter, but I'll try to make it exciting too. Thank you for reviewing ^^. Hugs Custard**

**Answer to KuroPika X: It's not that short! But this one is longer ^^. Well thanks, I'm happy you find my story more entertaining than homework XD. Hugs Custard**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please spoil me with some reviews ^^. **

**/Midnight Custard**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! **

**Haha, I'm having too much fun with this, I just love writing this adventure story ^^. I hope you enjoy it as well!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.**

**I have done some small adjustments; I know that the twins last name and amber eyes both comes from Yuzuha, but I have changed it so that they come from their father's family instead, to fit the story.**

**Warning: Information. This chapter is very long and very, very full of information. Ranka tells the story about old Hikaru's and Kaoru's past. If you're not interested in what happened (you don't need to know that to just follow the story) you can skip the long part in cursive writing.**

**O-O-O-O-O**

Long, sharp nails scratched over the stonewall, creating a high-pitched, nasty sound. The other people in the large hall twisted uncomfortable.

"So you're telling me that my only healer was murdered in the middle of the forest?"

One soldier nodded slowly. "Yes master. One of the guards sent a falcon with the message. The healer was killed last night by an assassin." He took a tentative step closer. "Master, we think it's the work of the rebels."

A cold laugh echoed through the stone-hall and gave goose bumps to all present. Hard golden eyes were focused on the poor man.

"You think it was the rebels… How very intelligent of you, I'm most impressed." Long, black hair flicked back and forth as the tall man strode slowly toward the soldier.

"You idiot…" He sighed, stopping right in front of the shivering man. "Of course it's the rebels!" He roared, long nails crackling with electricity.

The nervous soldier took a step back. "Master, I…"

"Quiet!" An intense white light filled the room for a millisecond and then the once soldier, now only a black-burnt corpse, fell to the floor.

The Emperor chuckled and blew smoke off of his nails. He stepped over the corpse and turned to the other men.

"My dark magician has finally found out where the rebels are hiding, come forward Nekozawa."

A long, black cape trailed after the slightly crouched man, brushing over the marble. The hooded head was raised and ice-blue eyes met the ones of the Emperor.

"The rebels are hiding in the village Tairaka. It's the hometown of the former leader, Ranka Fujijoka. Tairaka lies deep in the forest, near the White Mountains."

"Thank you Nekozawa." The Emperor flipped his fingers and addressed one of the other men. "Komatsuzawa, I want you to gather hundred of your best soldiers and go to Tairaka. We will destroy the rebels… But don't underestimate them." He paced back and forth. "They may have lost their greatest fighter and one is completely without powers, but they still have Haninozuka and also Ootori. They are powerful magicians." He stopped and stared at Komatsuzawa. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go terminate those bloody kids. Except the twin, I want him alive…"

"Yes sir." The commander bowed stiffly and left the room.

Raikou ordered the rest of the men to leave him alone and sat down in his throne. He licked thin lips and grinded his nails together.

"You won't get away this time… No, this time I'll kill you with my own, bare hands. I'm coming for you Kaoru."

O-O-O-O-O

"Come on Hikaru, cover fast!" Honey shot down, his foot hitting Hikaru hard in the chest. The redhead swore and fell hard on his butt.

The smaller boy crossed his arms and pouted. "No Hika-chan, you're supposed to grab my foot and twist me, don't you remember?"

Hikaru got up on his feet, gnarling. "Yeah I remember Honey, but you're just too fast."

"Hmm… Do you want to have some cake? Maybe it will help you to fight better, it always helps me!" Honey beamed, digging in his hands in his robe-pockets.

Hikaru tried to not laugh, Honey stowed cookies in his pockets. Still, he accepted the cookie and thanked his teacher. Both boys sat down and started to munch on the snacks. Hikaru looked at Honey and frowned. He really had no chance at defending himself against Honey yet and he wondered if he'd ever get good at martial arts. Kaoru's words from earlier still hurt. He swallowed his cookie and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Eh Honey-senpai?"

"Yes Hika-chan?"

Hikaru bit his lip. "Do you think I'll ever get good at this? I mean, I'm lousy…"

Honey frowned and shook his head. "You're not bad at all Hika-chan. It takes time to learn to fight." He smiled kindly. "I think you're doing great!"

Feeling a bit happier Hikaru smiled back.

"Now, let's try that move again!"

Hikaru nodded determinately. He could do this. Honey believed in him, and so did Tamaki and Haruhi. He tensed his body, preparing himself for Honey's attack. Kaoru was unfair and downright mean. Hikaru would not let him lower his mood.

The small blonde started to run and jumped high in the air. This time Hikaru was prepared. He stepped to the side and grabbed the attacker's foot. Using all his concentration, he managed to twist Honey in the air and throw him to the ground. Honey effortlessly turned and landed on his feet.

"You did it!" Brown eyes were wide in surprise. Then he cheered and started to clap his hands. "Hika-chan, that was really good!"

The redhead stood grinning. He'd made it! His body was filled with a warm, happy feeling.

"What happened?" Haruhi had joined them on the field.

Honey ran forward and embraced the slender girl. "Hika-chan is getting good at fighting!"

"Haha, that's wonderful! I'm sure Kyouya-senpai will be happy to hear that." She patted Honey on the head, removed his arms from her waist and chuckled. "Watch the baby senpai. Anyway, I was going to tell you that my father has returned from the neighbour village. We're going to hold a great dinner tonight and I need your help in the kitchen." Hikaru grimaced. Now when he'd finally learnt how to master a move, he was going to help Haruhi cook instead… "Oh and Hikaru, my father can tell you about what happened between Kaoru, the old Hikaru and the Emperor. All of it."

Hikaru stretched his aching muscles and nodded. He and Honey followed Haruhi out of the field. Finally. He was going to hear the whole story and meet Ranka, the old leader of the rebels.

O-O-O-O-O

The festive dinner at the Fujijoka residence that night was a joyful event. The dinner table was loaded with lots of different dishes; beef, soup, homemade bread, perch. Hikaru, Tamaki, Mori and Honey had helped Haruhi to prepare this glorious feast and had been busy in the kitchen the entire afternoon. Also, Ranka was home again. Haruhi's interesting father had heard about the "new" Hikaru's arrival, and during all dinner he sat questioning the elder twin about his universe travelling and how his training was going and what he thought about the house and village and food. Hikaru was amused and relieved to find out that the eccentric man was just like in his world, except that this one lacked a skirt and mascara. When he was done interrogating Hikaru, Ranka told them about what had been made to help the unfortunate neighbour village. They had left some strong youths to help rebuild the destroyed cottages and had given away some of Tairaka's own crops.

All the rebels (inclusive Hikaru the apprentice) listened solemnly to the information, munching thoughtfully on the last bits of food.

"As we all know, this is nothing compared to what the Emperor have done and will do." Ranka sighed tiredly. "In the last few weeks three villages have already been totally destroyed by his soldiers and a lot of farmers have been killed. I have also heard he's raiding Zenbi for magicians, luckily the few still alive are hiding. But as we already know Raikou has the dark wizard Nekozawa and also your father Kyouya."

Hikaru widened his eyes. Kyouya's dad was on the evil Emperor's side? Made sense…

"Still, he only has a fire-magician and a dark one." Tamaki said. "We have all elements, so we're magically stronger."

Kyouya frowned and shook his head. "You're forgetting that Raikou himself has powers. He and my father are the most powerful magicians in the entire kingdom. How much I hate to say it, we wouldn't stand a chance against either of them. Not as long Hikaru and Kaoru are without powers."

Hikaru lowered his head in embarrassment and saw that his twin looked a bit uncomfortable too. Kyouya smiled slightly and nodded at Kaoru. Both rose from their chairs.

"This was delicious Haruhi." Kyouya said politely. He turned to Ranka. "Nice to have you back Ranka, you have to excuse me, me and Kaoru have some business to attend to."

Business? What business? Hikaru glared suspiciously at Kyouya's back. What was he going to do with Kaoru?

"Thanks Haruhi, loved the beef." Kaoru smiled at the girl and followed Kyouya out of the room.

Honey noticed the remaining redhead's sour face and giggled. "What's wrong Hika-chan? Don't you want Kyo-chan to take your brother away?"

Hikaru choked on a piece of bread, started coughing violently and blushed a dark crimson. The others at the table chuckled at his antics and Mori helpfully whacked him over the back. Finally he managed to swallow the bread and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Eh Ranka, I wondered if you could tell me about the Emperor and his connection to Kaoru and the old Hikaru." He forced down his blush and looked hopefully at the older man.

Ranka smiled kindly and nodded. "Of course Hikaru, I understand you're still confused about all this." He turned serious. "But I have to warn you, it's a long and rather sad story."

The chair groaned as Hikaru leant over the table, eager to finally hear what had happened. "I'm in no hurry."

"Good." Ranka leant back in his chair, making himself comfortable. Haruhi, Tamaki, Honey and Mori watched him intently. Ranka took a deep breath and started.

"Zenbi has always been ruled by the Hitachiin family. They are a very special and powerful family, not only because their strong magical powers but also because their identical twins. In every generation of the family one set of identical twins are born, and that's why Zenbi is always controlled by a set of twins."

"Wait just a moment…" Hikaru shook his head in disbelief. "Identical twins are like freakily unusual. How come the Hitachiin family can just pump them out?"

Ranka shrugged. "I don't know I'm afraid. It might have something to do with their powers, all I know is that there have always been identical twins in the palace of Zenbi."

Red locks fluttered on his forehead as Hikaru sighed deeply. He guessed the word "logic" didn't exist in this universe.

"Listen. A pair of twins is born, always male. They also have magic powers. The older one has the power of electricity and the younger one has that of water. When the elder twins die the younger ones take their place as rulers of the kingdom. The older twin becomes the Emperor, but the younger one practically has as much power as his brother. It's the older twin's duty to find a woman and make her pregnant. The woman always give birth to twin babies and as soon as she's eh… done… she is sent off again."

"What?" Hikaru stared at Ranka. "What do you mean sent off, shouldn't she like marry the older twin?"

The rebels and Ranka threw amused glances at each other. "That would have been logical. But the Emperor twins are not only best friends and brothers. They are also lovers."

If Hikaru had had something in his mouth, he would have choked again. "That's not possible! Is it like legal for them to be together like that?" He sputtered.

"They are the law." Ranka chuckled. "So that's the Hitachiin family cycle. But that was just the beginning of our story."

Right… He hadn't even started on the Raikou-Hikaru-Kaoru bit yet. Hikaru took a big gulp from his water and made himself more comfortable in the small wooden chair.

O-O-O-O-O

"Eh, just what are we doing up here exactly?" Kaoru frowned. They were sitting on a cliff, peering down on the dark forest.

The dark-haired boy pulled his kimono tighter around him and sighed. "We're waiting for a message." Steel-grey eyes looked faraway, searching. "I've had this feeling that something's about to happen, a tension in the dark elements. Yesterday and today this feeling has increased rapidly. I have a man inside at the Emperor's palace, if something's wrong, which I'm pretty sure it is, he will send the messenger to this cliff and warn us."

Kaoru raised his slender eyebrows in surprise. He didn't know that Kyouya had infiltrated the palace. But, it was Kyouya. Kaoru would never know all things Kyouya did or thought.

"Alright, so we're waiting for a "messenger". What if it doesn't show up?"

"It will show up."

Kaoru shrugged. "If you say so. But what do you need me for? Can't you wait for that thing yourself?"

"Ah, but it's so much more fun to have you here with me…"Kyouya smirked. "You're such good company." He chuckled at Kaoru's indignant face. "No, but when we receive the message and if it's bad, I need you to run to the others and tell them about it."

Kaoru nodded slowly. He continued to stare out in the darkness. Soon, he was incredibly bored. They had been there for almost one hour now… He could see the lights from the village, Tairaka was just one kilometre or so away. Absentmindedly he started twirling his ponytail between his fingers, combing it carefully. Damn hair, it always tangled up. It was such a bother, he really should cut it…

"Look, over there." Kyouya rose to his feet, pointing out in the night.

At first Kaoru could see nothing. Then, when it was just some meters away, he saw it. A bat, flying right towards them.

"Really? A bat Kyouya?" He couldn't help grinning. It was just so ironic that Kyouya had a pet bat…

Kyouya ignored him and extended his arm. The small bat obediently landed on his hand, and long, pale fingers retrieved the piece of paper, which was tied to the bat's claw. As soon as it was relieved off the paper the animal flew off again.

Kyouya folded out the letter and read. Kaoru watched him curiously, trying to make out some emotion on the other boy's face.

"Kaoru." Kyouya didn't take his eyes from the message. "We're leaving Tairaka tomorrow. The Emperor's soldiers will be here in a week and the villagers have to run or they will be killed. Tell the others. I have things I must do."

Kaoru nodded gravely, jumped to his feet and ran off towards the village.

O-O-O-O-O

_The Emperors of Zenbi have not always been cruel. The predecessors to Raikou, his father and the father's twin, were good Emperors. Arashi and Ame were their names. Arashi had Raikou and his twin Taki with a woman from another kingdom. But Arashi, who was a kind and loving man, didn't send her away after the birth of hi sons. Instead, she stayed at the palace and had another child with the Emperor. The child was Hikaru's and Kaoru's father._

_This was a highly unusual happening in Zenbi, never before had the older Emperor twin had more children than the mandatory identical twin boys. Anyway, Arashi and Ame brought up Raikou and Taki, leaving the younger boy in the hands of the mother. But, at an early age, the two young twins showed cruel and greedy tendencies. This worried the Emperor deeply, but he and Ame still loved them. _

_Raikou and Taki grew up to powerful, handsome youths. But they were egoistical and mean, only caring about themselves. It was around this time when I, a youth myself at the time, started working in the palace kitchen. Being the younger elder twin Ame's favourite chef, I got to see and hear a lot of things going on in the Emperor family. Apparently Raikou had slept with a lot of pretty girls from all over the kingdom, but he'd not succeeded in making any of them pregnant. This was a scandal. It was the duty of the oldest Hitachiin twin to make a girl pregnant with twin boys; if he failed he was not fit to be the ruling Emperor. As you can imagine, Raikou was very angry._

_The years passed, the tension and frustration growing in the Emperor family. Eventually I fell in love with a maid working at the palace, Haruhi's mother. And I was not the only one falling in love. Hikaru's and Kaoru's father, now an intelligent youth in his twenties, started an affair with one of my kitchen colleges, Yuzuha. Yuzuha was a gorgeous girl, with long, red hair. All was very hush hush, after all it was not allowed for someone in the Emperor family to be together with a worker girl. And, Hikaru's and Kaoru's father was traditionally not supposed to exist at all. They managed to keep it secret for a long time, until he happened to make her pregnant. With twin boys- Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin._

_It was a complete uproar in all of Zenbi. Raikou and Taki were furious, they wanted their little brother, Yuzuha and their babies executed. But Arashi and Ame had other plans. They didn't see their own sons fit to become Emperors anymore and were thrilled about the new heirs to the throne. They took no heed to Raikou and Taki and pampered their grandsons instead. This was a great mistake._

_Also I had had a child with my wife. A beautiful baby girl. I was up in the sky with happiness, only having eyes for my wife and daughter. So, I was very surprised when Yuzuha came to me an evening, asking me to take care of Hikaru and Kaoru. She said that they weren't safe and asked me to hide them. If something happens, she said, promise me to take them away from here. I had no idea what could be wrong but she was my friend, and I promised to take care of them._

_The same night Raikou stabbed Arashi in the heart and Taki strangled Ame. They invaded the palace with their own soldiers and killed all who resisted. Yuzuha and Hikaru's and Kaoru's father were brutally murdered, along with my own wife. It was a terrible night. I managed to escape, with Hikaru, Kaoru and Haruhi. Filled with sorrow and anger, I brought them to my home-village, Tairaka._

_Raikou and Taki named themselves Emperors and took control of Zenbi. They didn't know where Hikaru and Kaoru had gone, but they didn't care. Blinded by their own power and greed, they totally ignored their lost nephews. Obsesses with beauty and perfection, they started "cleansing" Zenbi - burning, killing and reforming all which were unwanted, imperfect. _

_Well in Tairaka, I swore to get revenge, to overthrow Raikou and his terrible twin and destroy their world of cruel beauty. I started the rebel group, gathering opponents towards the Emperor and also as many magicians as I could find. Hikaru, Kaoru and Haruhi grew up as brothers and sister in the middle of the rebel central. _

Ranka groaned and rubbed his neck. He looked at the hypnotized youths and laughed. "I think I'll end it there."

Hikaru blinked. Oh right. He had been so captivated by Ranka's storytelling, that he'd completely forgot where he was. Jesus… This was better than a movie.

"So basically… Hikaru and Kaoru are the lost and rightful heirs to the throne of Zenbi?"

Tamaki nodded. "Yes, and since our earlier Hikaru is dead, you have to take his place and kill Raikou."

Hikaru was deep in thought. He was their only hope, a hero. It was pretty cool. Then he frowned.

"Eh, talking about the old Hikaru…" He murmured, plucking his fingers nervously. "Kaoru said that he killed him. Is that true?"

Haruhi shook her head, eyes heavy with sadness. "No. Raikou killed Hikaru."

Hikaru was confused. "But then why…"

"Raikou killed him, but it was because of Kaoru that Hikaru died." Ranka explained.

"What?" Hikaru was even more confused.

Tamaki put a hand on his shoulder. "Four months ago, we attacked the Emperor's palace. We were stronger than ever before, having powerful magicians and a lot of followers. We got inside the palace, and were heading for the Emperor twins. Our plan was to let Hikaru meat Raikou alone, as we've said Raikou could easily kill the rest of us." Tamaki lowered his blonde head. "It went so terribly wrong. Everyone except Hikaru and Kaoru were trapped in some spell by Nekozawa, Raikou's magician. Then Raikou and Taki attacked the twins. They paired up two and two, Hikaru against Raikou and Kaoru against Taki."

"What happened?" Hikaru dreaded the answer.

Tamaki's eyes were clouded with tears and he just shook his head. Instead Honey spoke.

"Kaoru killed Taki, he chopped his head off. But Taki also managed to hurt Kaoru severely." Hikaru ground his teeth. How dared that bastard hurt his brother? "Raikou was mad with despair and anger. He stopped fighting with Hikaru and attacked Kaoru, who was too weak to defend himself at all. Hikaru stood in front of his brother and used his magic to keep Kaoru safe from Raikou's lightning attacks." Honey was also close to tears by now. "Hikaru had to defend both himself and Kaoru and Raikou is very powerful. Soon Hikaru was too weak and exhausted and Raikou easily killed him. Just then Kyouya managed to break the dark spell, and Mori and me could distract the Emperor while Kyouya did a transference spell and got all of us out of there. Hikaru was dead, Kaoru almost dead and Kyouya was also very bad from doing that very hard, dangerous spell. We thought everything was lost."

Haruhi, who now sat embracing the sobbing Tamaki tightly, met Hikaru's shocked eyes calmly. "Since then Kaoru has blamed himself for Hikaru's death. He would probably take his own life, if it were not for his desire to kill Raikou. Which he can't. Oh irony..."

Silence lowered itself over the table. All sat in their own grief. Hikaru felt like an intruder. Then suddenly, fast steps could be heard outside. The door was thrown open and a panting, longhaired redhead leaped inside.

"Raikou has sent his soldiers, they will be here in a week. All villagers must leave their homes and run." Kaoru's determined, amber eyes locked with Tamaki's. "Tono. Tomorrow we have to leave Tairaka."

**O-O-O-O-O**

**If you got through the storytelling part I'm very impressed and proud of you! Now I've explained the worst and most, so now there will be more action and love and such. **

**If you're interested;**

**Elder twins:**

**Arashi = Storm**

**Ame = Rain**

**Younger (evil) twins:**

**Raikou = Lightning (Think of Pikachu's evolved form)**

**Taki = Waterfall**

**Mini twins:**

**Hikaru = Radiance**

**Kaoru = Fragrance**

**(Hikaru's name fits quite well with his element but I can't say the same about Kaoru's… Stupid twin)**

**More interesting information: Identical twins is actually a bit genetic, on the man's side. Isn't that amazing?**

**Answer to lotlot: Poor Hikaru indeed… I'm ashamed that I put him through so much trouble. But, Kaoru won't act like a super bitch through the entire story, just for a while more : ). Well, Kaoru didn't kill him, but he blames himself. Hmm, he got to eat a nice dinner at least? Haha, not much break for poor Hika XD. Thank you for reviewing! Hugs Custard**

**Answer to Merry: Hehe yes you're dedicated a weapon, nice huh? Mm, you have to help me with his sword training, it's really hard to write something I don't know anything about… We'll meet today! And not study ^^. Hugs Pip**

**Thank you so much for reading! I can't tell you how happy I am that someone actually wants to read my brain's fantasy-party XD. Although it's not very much love between Hikaru and Kaoru yet… Ah, all in good time!**

**Please leave a review, I really love those :D**

**And, do you have any favourite rebel-character yet? (Just curious)**

**/Midnight Custard**


	6. Chapter 6

**I have tried to update this once in a week. I know I failed this time, but quite much happened in my normal, day-life. My grandmother passed away, I had an exam and also got a new obsession (Soul Eater).**

**I hope you forgive me, because now, finally, the next chapter is here!**

**The response for the last chapter was amazing, I'm so thrilled that so many of you like this. Thank you, dear readers!**

**I do not own Ouran High School Host Club. Pity…**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**O-O-O-O-O**

The next morning was hectic. All of Tairaka was turned upside down as the villagers packed their most important belongings, gathered the cattle and loaded wagons with food. Ranka was to lead them far up in the White Mountains. They would take shelter and hide in the caves up there. It would be hard for the soldiers to reach them there.

The rebels would not go with them; they would take their own road into the forest.

Hikaru stood in the Fujijoka kitchen. The rebels were running back and forth, packing food, weapon and clothes. Hikaru had no idea what to do, he was completely confused. So when Tamaki came into the kitchen, mumbling to himself about bandages, Hikaru grabbed him.

"Tono, what are we going to do? Where are we going?"

The blonde smiled and patted him on the head. "Don't you worry Hikaru, everything is under control!" Hikaru seriously doubted that… "We are fleeing Tairaka, we're going out in Zenbi. See it like a travel!"

"But what about my training?" Hikaru frowned. "And where will you go, to the Emperor?"

"Are you crazy?" Tamaki looked at him as he'd grown a second head. "We can't fight the Emperor, not yet. We will continue your training on our journey. First when you're strong enough, we'll attack the palace. Now I have to go find some bandages, excuse me."

Tamaki disappeared in a whirlwind of blonde hair and long robes. Hikaru was left in the kitchen, nervously biting his lip.

"Ah Hikaru!" Haruhi appeared in the kitchen. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out in the corridor and towards his room. "I have something I want to show you."

Haruhi shot the door to his room opened and they went inside. On the bed there laid a deep blue kimono. It was beautiful. Hikaru carefully walked up to the bed and touched the fabric.

"It was the old Hikaru's." Haruhi explained. Hikaru pulled his hand back as if he'd gotten burnt. "You're in the rebel group now and we're going on a journey. A journey we won't end until we have met and killed Raikou." Brown eyes burned with determination. "I want you to have this kimono. We all have our own rebel kimono, representing out powers and elements." She walked past the frozen redhead and pulled out a long package from beneath the bed. "I also want you to have this." Hikaru took the package from her and unfolded it. It was a sword. Wide golden eyes were reflected on the shiny metal, but soon Hikaru shook his head and tried to give it back to the girl.

"I can't take this Haruhi…" He smiled weakly. "It was your Hikaru's. I'm not him, I don't deserve either his kimono or his sword."

Haruhi snorted and pushed the weapon back in his arms. "You ARE Hikaru. Don't let Kaoru's words bring you down." She smiled warmly at him and put a small hand on his cheek.

"You are one of us now. We can't fight Raikou without you. I believe in you." She swatted his cheek playfully and headed back towards the door. "Change into that now and then go meet up with the others. Good luck!" The door closed after her with a tired groan. Hikaru looked down at the sword in his grasp, feeling a warm, happy tingling running through him all the way down to his toes.

A Hikaru was always a Hikaru right? If the last one was so amazing, then Hikaru surely could do just as good. Now… How did one get into this thing?

About half an hour later a very proud twin sauntered out from the house. He looked absolutely fantastic in his blue kimono and he knew it. The sword hanging at his side felt rather cool too. Hikaru spotted Kaoru and Kyouya a bit up the street and casually strolled their way. Both Kaoru and Kyouya wore different kimonos, Kyouya a purple one and Kaoru a dark green one They stood talking quietly and the younger twin was sharpening his sword.

"Hey guys!" Hikaru gracefully stepped up beside Kaoru, showing off his new look.

"Good day Hikaru." Kyouya answered politely.

Kaoru threw a glance at Hikaru's new clothes and sword. "So you've stolen my brother's kimono and sword? That still doesn't make you him." The smooth, raspy voice of the younger twin was dripping with malice. He turned his back on Hikaru and Kyouya and walked away.

Hikaru sighed deeply. Not again… Maybe it hadn't been the smartest move to flaunt his new attire right in Kaoru's face. He looked longingly after his brother. God how he missed his own, nice, Kaoru… But, this one had his advantages too. He couldn't help but stare at Kaoru's departing form. The long, green kimono looked great on his twin, hanging just so one could see the body's contours beneath… And that ponytail was kind of sexy…

Kyouya cleared his throat, clearly amused. "So, were you together with Kaoru in your world?"

Hikaru choked on his drool and coughed loudly. "Excuse me what?"

"In your world, did you have an intimate relationship with your twin?"

Hikaru laughed nervously and shook his head exaggeratedly. "No! No, absolutely not. Heh that would have been so wrong, wouldn't it?"

Kyouya shrugged. "Why? Hikaru and Kaoru from this world were together. They were lovers just like all other Hitachiin twins." With that he left Hikaru in the middle of the street.

Hikaru was in shock. Kaoru and the old Hikaru had been together… But that meant that Kaoru had been intimate with him (in a way), but he hadn't been intimate with Kaoru! His precious little brother was more experienced than he was… This was not good.

O-O-O-O-O

It was noon before the rebels managed to leave Tairaka. They had a long, heartfelt farewell with Ranka and then proceeded into the forest. All were heavily packed, carrying satchels over their shoulders. The plan was to get as far away from the village as possible, before the soldiers reached it. Then they would just hike around, moving the camp regularly so that they would be harder to find. During the journey they would also continue Hikaru's training. All the rebels thought it was exciting to be out on a quest together again, and chatted happily as they walked down the road.

First walked Mori and Honey, the smaller boy humming a cheery tune to himself. Next came Kyouya, Tamaki and Hikaru, the latter engaged in a heated discussion. Finishing the lead were Kaoru and Haruhi. The girl was quietly admiring the greenery around her and Kaoru was curiously studying Tamaki and Hikaru.

He almost smiled when Hikaru mocked Tamaki and then sniggered while the blonde boy whined to Kyouya. He didn't like to admit it, but the stranger was very similar to his own brother. Actually, if you ignored the fact that he had short hair and couldn't fight properly, the new Hikaru was identical to the old one. Kaoru sighed and rubbed the back of his head. This entire situation was very confusing. He didn't know what to think. Maybe he was too hard on the stranger… But still, he couldn't betray his own Hikaru by accepting the new one. And what about the new Hikaru's world? Didn't he have his own Kaoru at home? Why had he abandoned his real twin to come play hero in this world and bugger the hell out of Kaoru?

It wasn't long before the group was hungry. They paused next to a small stream, and everyone sat down together, throwing themselves over the sandwiches and apples Haruhi provided. Kaoru left the others to eat in peace, further up the stream. The water sparkled merrily and the redheaded boy smiled happily as he took off his sandals and lowered his feet into the pleasant water.

He took a chunk from his apple and munched thoughtfully. It didn't feel right to just abandon Tairaka like this. The small village would be completely destroyed by Raikou's soldiers. Kaoru wished that he had been able to stay and protect their home. Still, fighting the Emperor was more important. Kaoru clenched his teeth. He wouldn't stop fighting until Raikou was dead. He didn't care what the others said; he would kill the man who'd killed his brother, lover and best friend. His everything. He would find a way… Sticking a hand down the front of the kimono Kaoru pulled out a beautiful medallion. It was in silver and had a small lightning symbol engraved on it. Kaoru held the locket against his cheek and closed his eyes. He would avenge Hikaru, if it so were the last…

"Hey you." A hand grabbed hold of his ponytail. Kaoru jumped in fright and dropped his apple down in the stream. He looked over his shoulder.

"Why are you sitting here all alone?" Hikaru smirked, pulling his hair. "Why don't you come eat with us?"

Kaoru threw his head backwards, successfully hitting Hikaru's crotch hard. The older twin released the hair and got down on his knees whimpering.

"Can you stop sneaking up on me all the time?" Kaoru roared, getting up on his feet to glare down at the crouching boy.

"Ugh, you didn't need to castrate me!" Hikaru whined, looking up at Kaoru with teary eyes. "And I wasn't sneaking, it is you who's too dumb to discover me!" He sneered. "You're supposed to be an assassin, you should have sensed my presence."

The younger twin growled and pulled Hikaru up by his collar. "You're presence isn't worthy of being sensed. Now leave me alone!"

Hikaru huffed indignantly but went back to the others. Kaoru sighed deeply and bent to pick up the apple from the water. Why wouldn't the idiot just let him be? He continued to chew on the fruit, watching the water drip from his hand. He loved those small drops of pure liquid. They sent some peace to his mind. So beautiful…

A water drop trailing down his finger suddenly stopped its journey downwards. It trembled slightly, before floating up in the air. Golden eyes widened. Kaoru concentrated on another drop and then another and another. Soon twenty small water pearls were bouncing up and down, circling Kaoru's hand. His power… It was back.

O-O-O-O-O

Hikaru fell to the ground and groaned. Finally they would stop for the night. He was so tired and his feet were killing him. What were these crazy people thinking walking around for hours in uncomfortable sandals? God how he wished he had a car, or at least a bike…

"Are you tired Hika-chan?" Honey sat down next to him, smiling happily.

Hikaru just nodded, looking at Haruhi who'd started to rummage around in Tamaki's bag.

"Mori-senpai, could you get us some fire wood? I'll start with supper in a minute!" She said to the older boy. Mori nodded and at once random wood came flying from the trees nearby. The tall boy got down on his knees and arranged the sticks in a neat pile.

"I can start the fire!" Honey shot a beam of fire at the pile, which went afire at once.

Hikaru sat gaping. It would take a lot of time to get used to all the magic stuff… He looked at the rebels, whom had now gathered around the fire, eagerly awaiting supper. He frowned.

"Eh, shouldn't we get the tent ready?"

The others stared at him.

"What tent?" Kyouya raised an eyebrow.

Hikaru chuckled. "You can't seriously mean that you have no tent…" The rebels continued to just stare at him. Hikaru couldn't believe this, they really were serious. "But where will we sleep?"

"On the ground of course!" Tamaki cheered, clinging onto Haruhi as she tried to boil soup over the fire.

"That's insane! I don't wasn't to sleep on the ground, it's dirty, uncomfortable, cold… And it looks like it'll start to rain soon too, have you seen the sky?" He blabbered, desperately waiting for one of them to pull a tent out from his pocket.

The second redhead snorted and leant over Kyouya to shove Hikaru. "Wimp… If you don't like it, then get lost."

"Hush you." Kyouya put a finger on Kaoru's lips, silencing him. "You'll get used to it Hikaru, it's not that bad."

Hikaru had to clutch the ground to not slap Kyouya's perverted fingers away from his brother's face. It stung in his heart as he watched the usually cold Kaoru chuckle and bite lightly at Kyouya's finger. Still, he should be thankful to Kyouya for defending him. He smiled half-heartedly towards the older boy.

After supper, the group continued to sit by the fire, talking and laughing. It was getting dark, the sun was on its way down and above them, storm clouds gathered.

"So Hikaru, tell us about your world!" Tamaki suddenly hollered, making everyone look curiously at the redhead.

"Yes Hika-chan! Pretty please?"

Hikaru shrugged. "Why not?" He scooted a bit closer to the warm fire. "My world is very different from yours. It's like this world in the future, but without magic." He scratched his head, what should he say?

"Futuric you say? Interesting…" Kyouya mumbled, taking up his small notebook.

"Yeah, we have like a lot of cool inventions, most are driven by electricity. We have cars, television, aircrafts, Gameboys…" Amber eyes were clouded with lustful memory.

Tamaki rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I know nothing about the strange things you just mentioned. But, what do WE do in your world? Are we warriors?"

"Hehe, not exactly…" Hikaru almost felt ashamed to tell the rebel group what they did in his world. Almost. "We are all rich, except you Haruhi, and go to a really fancy school. At the school we're in a club, a host club. It was you Tono, who started it. At the club we entertain bored school girls."

"Entertain girls?" The rebels looked confused.

If Hikaru had been a lesser man, he would've blushed. "Uh yeah. We're the most handsome boys at school." He pondered for a while. "Basically it's a whore-house. Without the sex of course."

Tamaki, Honey, Mori and Haruhi gaped. Kyouya and Kaoru were trying not to laugh.

"Eh… But why am I entertaining girls? I mean, I am one." Haruhi mumbled.

"Oh that's a long story… You are pretending to be a guy and are in the club to pay off a debt, which you got from knocking an expensive vase over."

Kaoru couldn't stop it any longer, he started to snigger.

"But at least my love and I are together in your world as well! Right Hikaru?" Tamaki beamed brightly, pulling the confused girl to his chest.

"Well no…" Tamaki gasped loudly. "But you like each other, you're just too slow to realize it."

"And what about Kao-chan? You have one in your world too?" Honey asked, placing himself on Mori's lap. Kaoru stopped his sniggering and watched the other redhead in interest.

Hikaru felt as if Honey had hit him. He lowered his eyes and cleared his throat. "Y..Yeah."

"So you two got separated? That's awful." Haruhi said sadly. "It must be very hard for you Hikaru, to be away from your own twin."

Damn it… Soon he would start to cry. Hikaru bit his lip and shook his head, trying to stay cool. "Nah, it's alright. I don't mind."

It went silent. Kaoru looked at Hikaru with disgust. Then a powerful rumble shook the forest.

Haruhi shivered and crept even closer to Tamaki, who kissed her head and took her hands in his. Hikaru smiled. They were cute.

"Hikaru." Kyouya had gotten up. "Time to start the next part of your training. Come with me."

Hikaru nervously glanced at the dark clouds, but got up and followed Kyouya. They went back the same way they came and stopped next to a medium-sized clearing. It was now very dark and Hikaru couldn't help but jump a little every time the thunder rumbled above.

"You have the power of electricity." Kyouya motioned up at the sky. "To use your magic you need to be charged with electricity."

Hikaru fidgeted, treading back and forth. "Okay. How do I charge then?"

Thin lips stretched in a, in Hikaru's opinion, evil smile. "You have to get hit by lightning."

"I can't do that, I'll die!"

"No, you won't. The lightning won't hurt you, it'll get absorbed by your body."

"But how will I manage to get hit by it?" Hikaru couldn't believe himself. Was he seriously considering this?

Kyouya pointed at the clearing. "You are like a lightning magnet, if you only get out on a clear space, lightning will be drawn to you automatically." He smiled wickedly. "So just get out in that clearing, and I'll wait for you here."

"Do you promise I won't die?" Hikaru was terrified.

Kyouya patted him on his head. "I promise. I'm never wrong, you should know that." He smiled and gave Hikaru a push.

The redhead tentatively walked out on the clearing, entire body trembling with fear. He stopped in the middle and turned to look back at Kyouya. The older boy was nearly invisible in the dark night, but Hikaru knew that he was there.

Another rumble made Hikaru almost pee his pants and scream like a girl. This was so fucked up… More rumbles came, but no lightning. Hikaru started to lose his mind. What was he doing? He would die! Idiot, he was an idiot… Couldn't that fucking lightning come soon, so he would be done with this shit?

He started pacing round, kicking up tufts of grass and biting his nails. Then, it came. Everything turned white and Hikaru could see the lightning come towards him as in slow motion. It was just like the last time.

Letting go of his fear, Hikaru breathed deeply and closed his eyes. The lightning hit him. He felt how the electricity spread through his entire body, making all the hair on his arms stand out. But it wasn't painful. It felt wonderful, soothing. The ground he stood on shook and the rumble filled his ears. Then it was over. Smiling calmly, Hikaru opened his eyes. Eyes, sparkling with electricity.

**O-O-O-O-O**

**Go Hikaru! Now we can get this party started! **

**The rebels have finally started their journey, who knows what will happen next? Kaoru is acting like a bitch, I know. It's the point.**

**Rebel kimonos (colours):**

**Tamaki: White with golden details (King duh)**

**Haruhi: Light green**

**Kyouya: Dark purple**

**Hikaru: Deep blue**

**Kaoru: Dark green (Yes I love green)**

**Honey: Dark red**

**Mori: Brown (but a nice, pretty shade of brown!)**

"**End of unbelievably interesting information"**

**Answer to lotlot: Oh I'm sorry you don't like this at much as the other ones :/. I will continue the other ones someday, when this is finished and when I have some more control over my life and myself. : ) Hikaru's powers are coming in now! And Kaoru's too it seems! Thank you so much for reading lottie :D, Hugs Custard**

**Answer to KuroPika X: I'm glad you liked the background story! :D It was quite hard to puzzle all that together… I know I didn't update soon at all, sorry :/. I hope you liked this chapter! Thank you for reading and reviewing! Hugs Custard**

**Thank you all for reading! I'll try to have chapter 7 up next Sunday ^^**

**/Midnight Custard**


	7. Chapter 7

Hello everyone! This is starting to get very long this story… And I've only begun!

I don't own Ouran High School Host Club.

Hope you enjoy ^^

O-O-O-O-O

"_Hikaru, come here!"_

_The redheaded boy looked around after his brother, but couldn't find him._

"_Where are you Kaoru?"_

"_Up here!"_

_Hikaru turned his head to the sky following the voice. Kaoru sat on the highest branch in a tall tree, swinging his legs back and forth. Taking hold of the tree-trunk Hikaru started to climb up the tree, heading for his twin. Soon he crawled up on Kaoru's branch and sat down next to his twin._

"_It's so peaceful here, don't you think?" Kaoru said dreamily, smiling at the blue sky._

_Hikaru frowned and looked around. A tree, a sky above and a blue ocean beneath. Nothing more._

"_Eh, doesn't it get boring?"_

_Kaoru chuckled. "It's not like I'm here all the time." He turned to Hikaru, smiling brightly. "I'm so happy you came to visit me Hikaru. I'm with you all the time and always see you, but this is the only place where we can really talk."_

"_And where is here exactly?" Hikaru looked around suspiciously._

_Kaoru clucked his tongue and poked Hikaru's nose playfully. "Silly… This is in your head. You're dreaming."_

_Hikaru's heart sunk as a rock. Of course. This wasn't real. Kaoru was dead, and he himself was in another world. He turned to his little brother, eyes brimming with tears._

"_So nothing of this is real then, it's just happening in my head." He lowered his head, his entire body shaking._

"_Damn it!" He cried out. "I.. I can't do this! I need you Kao."_

_A slender finger trailed over his cheek, capturing the teardrops running there. Then he was encircled by familiar arms and pushed against his brother's chest._

"_Hika…" Kaoru soothed, stroking his hair affectionately. "Why wouldn't this be real? This is your life, you decide what to believe in, what's real or not. And don't remember that you promised me. You promised to continue living."_

_The brothers sat embracing each other, Hikaru slowly calming down. _

"_Actually, I came to tell you something." Hikaru looked up to meet Kaoru's warm eyes. "Remember when you got transported to Zenbi?"_

_The elder twin buried his nose in Kaoru's neck, taking in the comforting scent, and nodded._

"_You were with me, out in the storm. I'm so happy that you were there, and got hit. Don't you see Hika? This is a new chance. I want you to live your life and be happy. Stop dwelling in the past, because it will never come back."_

_Hikaru stared at Kaoru. "You're saying that I should just forget about you and start having a great time with my new superman friends?"_

"_Yep." _

_Kaoru giggled at his twin's gobsmacked face and ruffled his red hair playfully. "Haha, you won't ever forget about me, I know that. But these people need you. And that Kaoru needs you even more. You have a lot of saving to do, Hikaru, and I'll support you in every choice you make." He kissed Hikaru on the cheek and stood up on the branch._

"_Let it go. Live full out and regret nothing. I'm always with you. Oh, and tease Tono a bit from me, will you? Bye Hikaru!"_

"_Hey wait!" Hikaru jumped up to stop Kaoru, but it was too late. The younger twin jumped off the tree, dove into the ocean and became one with the glinting water._

O-O-O-O-O

The following days were intense. The rebels would travel for two, three hours before lunch, then eat and train Hikaru. In the afternoon they would continue their journey and then stopped to rest before it got too dark.

Since his dream, Hikaru had found a whole new level of motivation. He was determined to learn everything Honey and Mori tried to teach him, and he was transforming into a dangerous rebel fighter unbelievingly fast. His magic training with Kyouya was unfortunately not going that well though. He just couldn't seem to grasp his power…

Beads of sweat were rolling down Hikaru's forehead, his brows crunched up in concentration. His fingers were trembling as he tensed all the muscles in his hand, trying to launch an attack. Nothing happened.

"Shit…"

The dark-haired boy crossed his arms and sighed impatiently. "It has been a week soon… Why can't you extract your power yet?"

Hikaru glared at the other boy. "I don't know… I just don't know how the fuck I'm supposed to get the magic out of my body."

"I've told you!" Kyouya waved at the practise target he had prepared, (one of Tamaki's old kimonos, strapped over some sticks). "You just focus, aim and shoot. How hard can it be?"

The redhead growled, taking a step closer to his trainer. "Well I'm sorry for not being able to sprout lightning bolts from my finger nails yet, Mr Perfect."

"Hey, take it easy guys." Haruhi, who had earlier been sitting on a tree stump, watching, rose and dusted off her light green robes. "Why don't you take a break senpai? I'll try to help Hikaru."

Kyouya watched Haruhi motionlessly for some seconds, then bowed and stepped aside. He leaned against a tree and watched lazily as the girl started to explain the physics of magic.

"Your power is just another part of you. Think of it like… hmm… a quality, or a skill."

"Yes, got it." Kyouya smirked as the younger boy nodded eagerly, listening attentively to Haruhi.

"So, to unleash your new "skill" you need to connect to it in some way." The girl paused, tapping her chin I thought. "When I use my magic, " Her hand was suddenly filled with white light, "I think only of light. I try to picture myself being made of light, try to be one with the power." She smiled, ball of light disappearing. "It's all in the head I guess."

Kyouya was impressed with the girl's ability to explain the complex matter of using magic.

"A part of me… And I'm a part of the power…" Hikaru mumbled, deep in thought. He closed his eyes and raised his hand again. Kyouya watched, indifferent, as Hikaru stood trying to squeeze the magic out of him.

"I can't do this. I'm worthless…" The redhead muttered, annoyed.

"No, no. I'm sure that I saw some sparks this time!"

"Really?"

"Yes! Let's try again!"

Kyouya smiled. Haruhi and her never ending amount of optimism. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. A frown was painted over his handsome face. He had a bad feeling. And his bad feelings always brought something bad…

"Can that moron still not use his magic?"

Kyouya opened his eyes and watched Kaoru thoughtfully. The redhead looked back, raising one eyebrow in question.

"What?"

"You said that you had got your power back. Can you use all of it?"

White teeth bit into a pouting bottom lip as Kaoru shook his head. "Nah, can just use it in small scale. Water drop scale. Very frightening is it not?" He asked wryly.

Kyouya just nodded slowly. Maybe now was the time to… Yes, yes it was.

"I need you to go on another mission."

Amber eyes lit in excitement. "What kind of mission?"

"An assassination of course, that's what you're good at."

Kaoru chuckled and twirled his long hair between his fingers absentmindedly. "I'll take that as a compliment. But tell me the details. Who? Why? Where?"

Kyouya took up his small notebook. "The name of the man is Gulliver. He's in the village that's closest to us, staying at the tavern." Steel grey eyes scanned the sides of the book. "Gulliver isn't usually working for the Emperor, but now he's on his way to the palace to leave information about some hiding magicians. He is a scum, a lowlife. I need you to take him out."

"No problem. I'll sneak to the village tonight. But what does he look like? And how should I get rid off him?" Kaoru frowned briefly. "If he's staying at the tavern it'll be hard to do it without anyone noticing."

"Just look for the loudest and rudest man in there. Also, he has an eye-patch." Kyouya snapped the book shut and studied Kaoru close, his lips twitching into a leer. "How you kill him is up to you. But to get him away from the others won't be hard… You see, Gulliver has an immense appetite for young, beautiful men."

Kaoru sighed tiredly and shook his head. "Huh… So basically you're sending me to seduce an ugly, self-obsessed bastard. Thanks a lot Kyouya…"

The older boy smirked. "Shouldn't be too hard for you, just don't forget to kill him after you've had your romantic time together."

"You rotten…" Kaoru's irritated answer was drowned in loud yells coming from Hikaru.

"Look, LOOK! I did it!" All turned around and stared at the twin. Hikaru was telling the truth; His hands sparkled with electricity and was glowing brightly.

Kyouya smiled and straightened up. Great. Now they could really start this training.

O-O-O-O-O

Gulliver burped loudly and slammed his empty beer glass down on the bar desk.

"One more, and quick!"

The thin bartender nodded and handed him another pint. Gulliver rubbed his large belly and took a big gulp of the golden liquid.

"Hey Gulliver, where ya´ heading?" The scrawny-looking man beside him leant closer to him, glassy eyes filled with curiosity.

"Raikou's palace. Got some business with him." His single brown eye gleamed and he blew up his chest proudly. The scrawny one gawked.

"You don't say? Raikou as in the Emperor?"

"That's him. I have some information for him, about the location of some chicken magicians, enemies to the empire."

"Really?" A small man with a straw-hat and bad teeth joined the conversation. "And what'll he give you? Gold?"

Gulliver let out another burp and grinned widely. "That's right. A lot of gold for the great Gulliver!"

The other men looked admiringly at the eye-patched drunkard. Gulliver was just about to order another beer when the door to the tavern was opened, and a slender figure in a green hooded kimono walked in. All eyes turned to the stranger. He didn't seem like the typical pub guest…

The stranger walked up to the bar desk and sat down some chairs to the right of Gulliver. "Eh… One beer please?" A soft, nervous voice asked the bartender. Gulliver's eyebrows rose ridiculously high. What was this? A kid?

The bartender seemed shocked at being spoken to so politely but hurried and served the guest a beer. The stranger pulled down his hood, brushed long, red locks from his face and smiled shyly.

"Thank you."

Gulliver nearly had a heart attack. The boy had smooth skin, delicate features and long, auburn hair which hung loose, reaching far down on his back. But even more amazing were the eyes, they had the colour of beer and were framed by long, dark lashes. He grinned excitedly. This night just went from good till great…

"Holy shit. Haven't seen that one here before…" The farmer with the straw hat muttered.

"Nah, he's new." Glassy eyes slowly trailed over the stranger's face and the scrawny man next to Gulliver licked his lips. "Come on, we should go make him feel "welcome"."

Sniggering, Gulliver's two drinking mates started to rise from their chairs. Then two huge hands fell on both their shoulders, forcing them down again.

"The boy's mine. You two just sit back and watch the pro." He winked at the two disgruntled men and got up himself. On legs slightly wobbly from the alcohol, he strutted up to the redhead. He put his hand on the slender back and smiled hungrily when the boy turned to look at him with curious eyes.

"Can I help you, Mr…?"

The large man sat down next to him and chuckled deeply. "Gulliver." He leant close to the boy, who continued to watch him innocently. "Actually sweetheart, you can help me." His breath reeked of beer as he got even closer, murmuring in the young man's ear. "I have this problem, this ache you see. And you're the only one who can make it go away…"

The boy frowned, nervously scooting away from Gulliver. "I'm sorry Gulliver-sama. I don't understand what you mean."

Gulliver felt himself swelling in his pants. Ah such innocence… "Oh I think you understand sweetie… It hurts right…", He took the boy's hand in his and placed it on his crotch. ,"Here."

A gasp escaped the young man's lips and he tried to pull his hand back. Gulliver held it down though and grabbed the long hair, pulling his victim closer.

"No stop that!" The boy whimpered and then yelped when Gulliver started to nibble on his neck. The eye-patched man just chuckled and bit down hard at the soft skin, making a pretty bruise. The other men in the tavern were all watching the scene eagerly, clearly not minding the harassment one bit.

"Let me go!" The boy ripped himself from Gulliver's grip and jumped off his chair. For a moment Gulliver thought he saw the beautiful eyes flash in cold rage, but then they immediately returned to look afraid and confused. He had probably imagined the cold look.

"Ah. You're one strong vixen, aren't you?" He murmured, amused. He used his large body to trap the smaller man against the bar desk and started to rid the other of his outer robe. Small hands desperately pulled on his wrists, trying to get him to stop. 

"What are you doing? Stop, please stop!" Golden eyes were beginning to tear up but Gulliver took no heed and dropped the kimono to the floor. One single brown eye raked over the young body, taking in how the thin under kimono clung to the boy's form. He heard the crowd cheer him on and immediately dove for the tempting lips. Pinning his prey's hands to the desk, Gulliver unceremoniously shoved his tongue inside the warm mouth. He groaned deeply and messily pushed his tongue in and out of the boy's mouth. He let go of the other's hands and soon felt how they uncertainly went to rest on his shoulders. Gulliver smirked and released the boy's bruised lips. He had won.

"Liked that, didn't you? Naughty boy…" He licked up the pale throat and bit harshly at the ear. His hands started to remove the remaining kimono.

"Please, not here in front of them…" The boy blushed heavily, gripping Gulliver's groping hands in his. "If you have to do this, can't we please go somewhere private?"

Gulliver frowned briefly, he thought he'd felt a hard object under the boy's clothes. Probably just his imagination again…

"Please. I promise I'll do anything you want." Gulliver was snapped back to the situation as the earlier innocent redhead leant close and whispered in his ear. A small hand massaged him through his trousers and he groaned deeply. What was up with this boy? Did he have split personalities? Gulliver found that he didn't care. He just grabbed the other's wrist and pulled him away from the bar desk and up the stairs.

"Just wait till I get you to my room… It'll be a night you'll never forget!" He almost thought he heard a snort from behind him, but when he turned around his lover-to-be was just smiling nervously. They arrived at his room in no time and Gulliver forcefully pushed the redhead inside. He closed the door with a slam and turned to the boy, grinning widely.

"Alright darling. Strip."

Long hair flew back and forth as the young man shook his head. The golden eyes were suddenly not nervous at all, instead they were filled with cold amusement. "Don't think so, old man."

Gulliver started to get irritated at this confusing person. He growled angrily and pounced on the other, ripping at the kimono harshly. Then suddenly, all air escaped his lunges as he got a hard kick in his stomach. He stumbled backwards and fell on his backside.

"What the hell? You fucking whore!" He roared, glaring at the surprisingly strong boy. The redhead chuckled darkly and walked over to the angry Gulliver.

"I'm sorry, but there will be no more touching me. You really are stupid, Gulliver-_sama." _The boy got down on his knees in front of the confused man. "You really think that I would sleep with someone as disgusting, old and ugly like you?" Gulliver felt himself growing cold inside. The boy was scaring him. He made a move to knock the other over, but the redhead easily dodged his attack and gave him another kick right in his ribs. Paralyzing pain spread through his entire body like poison, the bloody brat had broken one of his ribs! He clutched at his damaged chest and opened his mouth to scream for help, but his attacker clasped a hand over his mouth. Lips set in a malicious smile, the boy lent close to whisper in his ear.

"You should have asked for my name Gulliver…" Auburn tendrils tickled his neck and he stared up in those cold, evil eyes. "I guess you've heard about the rebels?"

Gulliver gasped when he finally understood. The peculiar red hair. The gorgeous face. The golden eyes of the Emperor family. His large body trembled in fear beneath that of his demon. "K…Kaoru?"

Kaoru grinned wickedly and patted Gulliver on his head. "The one and only!" Gulliver whimpered behind the hand and desperately tried to get free when the redhead slipped a hand underneath his clothes and pulled out a long knife. "Now Gulliver, I'm going to end your pathetic life."

Gulliver fought like a madman, he screamed and kicked and flailed. He was so afraid. It didn't help. Kaoru pinned him down and pressed the knife to his chest. He screamed in pain as the blade went through his flesh. But the pain and fright only lasted a moment. Then everything went blank.

Kaoru sighed deeply and got up from the dead man. He had managed to stab the swine right in his heart. The redhead looked down at his tattered clothes and frowned. He was going to kill Kyouya… This Gulliver pervert was so much worse than he had thought. Really, he'd almost been raped in the middle of the bar. He had almost panicked there for a while, he was one second from killing the old bastard right in front of the other guests. Of course, that would have been disastrous. This assassination was by far the worst and most indiscreet he'd ever performed. He was lucky there were only idiots, drunkards and drunk idiots down there, otherwise they would have noticed the ruckus in Gulliver's room.

A large red pool was forming around the dead man's body. Kaoru pulled out his knife and stuck it back in the belt beneath his robe. Another long night… Travelling tomorrow would be hell. He covered the corpse with a sheet and climbed out through the window.

O-O-O-O-O

Hikaru sat on the damp ground, yawning hugely. He was alone, guarding the camp. The others had gone deeper into the forest, spying for soldiers and other dangers. The remaining redhead felt like a loser, only sitting on his ass and defending the camp against random birds and stuff. This night and day had been so weird. It started when Kaoru stumbled over Tamaki in the middle of the night. Tamaki had panicked and started screaming. Everyone got up and Honey almost burnt the blonde's head off for waking him up. Then the younger twin jumped on Kyouya and attempted to strangle him. Fortunately for Kyouya, Mori grabbed the furious redhead around his waist and held him back. It was up to Hikaru to try and free Tamaki from the small fireball. Finally, Haruhi snapped. All boys shut their mouths and stared at the ground, while the small girl yelled at them. Then everyone went back to sleep.

In the morning, Haruhi was still in a bad mood. She grumbled about stupid boys, stupid tree-branches and stupid baby-kicks. The last part she didn't say without an ounce of warmth though. The girl's bad mood affected the rest of them. Soon they were a walking bee-hive, buzzing with irritation. So, in a way, it was quite nice to be alone at camp now.

Hikaru leant back against his tree trunk and closed his eyes. He whistled softly, trying to create small sparks in his hands. The sun shone down on him from between the branches and green leaves. Hmm he was quite tired… Who would have known that a piece of rubbish tree could feel so comfortable? Within minutes, the redhead was sound asleep.

It was about an hour later, when he was woken up in a crude manner. Someone grabbed him by the hair and threw him to the ground. Hikaru's eyes shot open and he growled angrily.

"What the fuck?" He glared up at the bastard who had woken him up. His jaw fell open. He stared right into the face of a man. A man who was smirking and had a soldier hemlet on his head. Hikaru gaped at the man, his throat getting dry. The hand in his hair yanked harder and he twisted his neck to see that another soldier was behind him. Golden eyes quickly scanned the camp. There were soldiers everywhere, at least twenty-five of them. Shit…

"Sleeping on your guard-duty?" The man in front asked, his fingers fiddling on the hem of his sword. "And where are your little play mates?" Calloused, strong fingers wrapped around his chin and forced him to look up at amused eyes. Hikaru only scowled and reached his hands back to remove that irritating hand from his hair.

"Go fuck yourself, helmet-boy."

Before he could even blink, a fist connected with his left temple and hands forced him down on the ground.

"Let go of me!" Hikaru screamed, his head roaring with pain. The fucker who'd punched him, crouched next to Hikaru's face and smiled coldly.

"You are lucky that we aren't allowed to kill you. I would have loved to cut your pretty little head from your neck." The calloused fingers were back, gliding down his throat teasingly.

Hikaru wrenched his nose in disgust. He flailed helplessly on the ground. Where were the others?

"Hmm, we can't kill you… But maybe we can still have some fun." The man looked possibly wicked. Hikaru began to fear the worst.

"Don't fucking touch me!"

Cold shivers went down his spine as the sadistic soldier only chuckled and let his hand slide down Hikaru's back. The other soldiers laughed rudely and Hikaru felt more hands moving over his body. This was really, really bad!

"But boss, the Emperor told us to not lay a hand on the twin." A nervous voice somewhere above Hikaru stuttered.

The soldier boss shrugged, his hand stopping on a place Hikaru really didn't want it. The redhead felt sick as the older man stared down at him, smirking lewdly.

"What the Emperor doesn't know won't hurt him…"

O-O-O-O-O

Poor twins :/. They both had a rough chapter.

A heads up, starting with chapter 8, this story will be changed to m-rated. Not because of boylove unfortunately…

Gulliver is a random character who belongs to my friend El Linjo.

Answer to KuroPika X: I'm so sorry to hear that : (. It must have been very hard for you. But it's good that you at least can focus on schoolwork and get good grades! Congratulation! Yeah they got their powers, but they can't use them very well… yet ;). I'm a bit of a tease ^^. I know… I love Kyouya/Kaoru too. They're not a couple at all in this fic, but it's always fun to play around :D. Thank you so much! Hugs Custard

Answer to lotlot: Thank you : ). Haha yes! Now the real action can start ^^. I watched the whole animé in a week XD, love it! So lovely characters… Thank you for commenting lottie! Hugs Custard

Well, not to sound like a complete spoiled brat or anything… But I only got 5 reviews for the last chapter :/. If you're getting tired of the story, I understand that you don't want to review, but if you really DO like this story, it's good to let me know : ). I need your support. For you who did review, Thank you! You really make my day. So… Please leave a review? Hehe…

/Midnight Custard


	8. Chapter 8

**I am so, so sorry. Last chapter I whined about not getting that many reviews, you guys are the best and gave me plenty. How do I reward you for your troubles? I do not update for FIVE fucking weeks… Seriously, I want to crawl beneath a rock and hide in my shame. I'm impressed if you're still reading this.**

**So, here's chapter 8 of Then Lightning Strikes. I warn you, there are going to be gore and blood and other cosy things. That's why this story is now m-rated.**

**I do not own Ouran High School Host Club.**

**I hope you like this fighting chapter. It was a pain to write… Enjoy!**

**O-O-O-O-O**

Hikaru clenched his teeth. This could not be happening… The soldier's hand ran down his cheek and Hikaru gasped when he felt rough fingers wrap around his neck. He began to choke as they squeezed tighter and tighter. Other hands started to pull at his kimono. Then suddenly, the hand around his throat was snatched back.

"Boss?"

Hikaru heard a strange, gurgling sound somewhere above of him. He strained his neck upwards to see what was going on.

The soldier captain was surrounded by darkness. Darkness like liquid smoke. The smoke slowly faded away, but left the soldier in some kind of daze. His eyes were black and empty and his skin had taken on a sick, grey colour. Everyone, Hikaru and the soldiers, stared at the man as he grasped his sword and slowly pulled it out of the scabbard. Thin lips widened in a sick smile and the man giggled maniacally.

"What's going on? What's happening?" The soldiers were flocking around their captain, worried. Hikaru could only stare as the crazy man swished the weapon back and forth, still giggling.

"Must destroy… evil." The black eyes rolled back in the soldier's head and without warning, he stabbed the sword right through his stomach. He pulled it out and thrust it in again. He stabbed himself repeatedly until he fell to the ground, dead. A black cloud of smoke rose from his body and travelled in through the trees. It hovered over to a figure in the shadows, and sunk into his body. Steel grey eyes glittered as the figure stepped out of the shadows.

"It's Ootori! Watch out everyone! Weapons!" The soldiers snapped out of their shock and pulled their swords, a few of them charging at Kyouya. They didn't get very far though, as a tall gestalt jumped out in front of the dark magician. Mori raised his long sword and chopped of the head of the first soldier.

"Watch out Hika-chan!" Hikaru who was already lying on the ground, tried to crawl down even further in the dirt. The soldiers holding him down screamed in fright as a huge ball of fire came shooting towards them. The clearing was filled with the smell of burnt meat and the black-burnt bodies fell to the ground, frizzling cosily. Hikaru shoved the corpses off of himself and got up, coughing violently. Honey smiled at him and patted him on the back before he ran to Mori's side and leapt at the closest enemy.

"Hikaru!" Kyouya had made it to the centrum of the clearing, using his sword to fend off the angry soldiers. "Keep close to Honey and Mori and don't do anything stupid!"

Hikaru didn't have time to feel offended. Instead he made his way over to the two older boys quickly, hovering behind their backs nervously. He watched in awe as his friends fought the soldiers. Tamaki and Haruhi had also joined the fight. Tamaki swung his sword skilfully and blood spurted as he cut the legs of one large man.

"Are you alright Hikaru?" Haruhi backed close to the frightened twin, hoisting a bow. She tensed the string and released the arrow. It spiralled through the air and drilled its way into the left eye of one enemy. He roared and fell, clutching his face as blood drops flew in every direction. Golden eyes were wide in shock as Hikaru watched his friends slaughter the enemy. He hadn't understood they were all killer machines. Mori choose that moment to chop off another head and Hikaru had to jump to the side to not get it in his face. He felt as useless as a little schoolgirl…

The rebels had taken down some of the soldiers but there were still at least twenty to go. Tamaki and Kyouya were fighting two soldiers each, while Mori and Honey handled six men at once. Haruhi was close to Hikaru, aiming at a soldier who was charging at Kyouya. A grunt right behind him made him spin around. A huge soldier glared down at him. He grabbed Hikaru by the neck and pulled him up in the air. Hikaru tried to scream for help, but he couldn't get out a word. He clawed at the man's hand in panic. Why didn't anyone see him?

"Put him down…" A cold voice said, and then a knife pierced through the giant's chest, making him gasp and drop Hikaru to the ground. Breathing heavily, Hikaru looked up to see Kaoru puncture the soldier's neck artery. His little brother's eyes were hard and he had blood smeared on his cheeks. Two pair of amber eyes met and Hikaru shivered.

"Kao…"

The younger twin shook his head. "Just stay close to Mori-senpai." He was gone in a storm of red hair, joining Kyouya in fighting his opponents. The soldiers who saw Kaoru paled and then stared at Hikaru.

"There are two of them! Is that Hikaru?" They didn't get any longer before they were ripped apart by Kaoru's and Kyouya's swords. Three other soldiers turned on their heels and ran into the forest. Kyouya swore loudly and ran after them.

"We can't let them escape and tell the Emperor about Hikaru! Mori come with me!" The tall boy killed his opponent and headed after the dark magician. Suddenly Hikaru stood side by side with Honey instead of hiding behind him. With two of their own away he needed to help the rebels out. After all the soldiers weren't allowed to hurt him, so he'd certainly be alright!

Determined, the older redhead raised his sword and attacked one of the men charging at Honey.

"Thanks Hika-chan!" The cheery blonde yelled, skilfully hitting one of his opponents with a sizzling fire sphere.

The soldier Hikaru had attacked snarled angrily and pushed him away. "Out of my way, brat!"

Golden eyes darkened dangerously. Of course. The plan was to first kill the rest of the rebels and then take him and Kaoru captive. Like he'd allow that. Not a chance. Growling, Hikaru tackled the soldier, nearly knocking him off his feet. The man roared and swung his weapon low, aiming at Hikaru's legs. The youth easily avoided the blow, dancing away from the clumsy soldier.

"Give me your best, asshole…" Hikaru taunted, clashing his sword with the furious soldier's. The irritated man didn't seem to mind hurting the twin any longer. Fortunately he was clumsy and slow. After having avoided the soldier's violent attack for a fifth time, Hikaru took a quick glance at the others. Honey was still close to him, fighting two soldiers. Tamaki was in the middle of a fiery, even battle with the second in command. His little brother was cornered against a large tree, trying to fight off three men who only seemed interested in disarming him. Also Haruhi had problems, a lot of soldiers approaching her from all directions. Hikaru frowned, he needed to end this retard and then help Kaoru and Haruhi. How was that attack Mori told him about now again…

The soldier let out another roar and swung his sword like a madman. Hikaru desperately tried to find an opening, dancing around the soldier like a nervous deer

"What's wrong boy?" The man shouted, lunging towards Hikaru once more. "You're dancing around like a small girl. Are you afraid to get hit by my huge sword?"

Hikaru blocked the attack, clenching his teeth as he pressed his sword tightly against his enemy's. A triumphant yell made them both turn around, swords still locked against each other.

The three soldiers cornering Kaoru had managed to take away his sword and was now busy wrestling him down on the ground.

"Kao!" Hikaru screamed, snatching his sword back hastily.

The soldier grinned, and stepped in front of the twin, blocking his way. "Don't think so boy. You're not getting away…"

Hikaru's blood boiled with rage. "Move damn it!" Suddenly his whole body was buzzing. He focused his anger, aimed it at the idiot in front of him and a large lightning bolt shot from his hand and hit the man's torso. The soldier made a surprised grunt and stumbled to the ground. He was dead. Hikaru was awestruck; he had killed a man. KILLED a man. With a freakin lightning bolt... He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He needed to help Kaoru.

At last, Hikaru got out of his mind-freeze and moved to help his brother. Then suddenly, everything happened at the same time. Honey successfully drove his sword right through his last opponent's midriff, but at the same time the soldier managed to clash the end of his sword into the rebel's head. Honey went out like a light and toppled to the ground on top of his fallen enemy.

Haruhi, who was just about to shoot one of the approaching men, saw Honey fall and thought the worse. "Honey-senpai!" The soldier closest to Haruhi used the distraction to rip the bow out of her hands. In a split second, two of the men held the small girl still as a third one raised his sword.

"HARUHI!" Tamaki and Kaoru screamed simultaneously. The blonde rebel leader desperately tried to get past his enemy, but the skilled soldier wouldn't budge, forcing Tamaki further backwards with his sharp sword. Kaoru was on the ground, held down by three soldiers. He furiously kicked and clawed at them, but only got a heavy punch to the head for his troubles.

"Let go of me!" Haruhi snarled, pulling angrily on her trapped arms.

The soldier in front of her smirked and leant close, lightly dragging the tip of his sword up Haruhi's stomach. "Such a sweet little girl… Almost a shame that I have to kill you." The sword stopped at the girl's neck, pressing into the skin and drawing blood. "I want you to scream for me rebel bitch." The blade was pulled away from Haruhi's throat and placed on her rounded belly.

"I'm going to shove this through your stomach and spear the little devil you've got in there."

Brown eyes widened in fear. "No, stop!"

"I'll count to three." The man leered. "One."

Hikaru's heart stopped. He had to do something, had to help Haruhi! Honey was out cold and neither Tamaki nor Kaoru could move.

"Two…" Bur what could he do? He had no chance of making it to Haruhi in time. Shit, he had to think of something now!

"No, stop it, don't hurt her!" Tamaki screamed.

Hikaru mentally slapped himself. He really was an idiot. There was something he could do. He raised his hands and aimed.

"Three!"

A loud bang rang through the clearing and a lightning bolt shot through Hikaru's hands and hit the soldier. Unfortunately, it did not only hit the soldier. Both the man's and Haruhi's bodies twitched oddly as the electricity went through them. The two men who'd been holding Haruhi had jumped back and stared stupidly as the two sunk to the ground, the soldier panting heavily and Haruhi unconscious.

One shocked redhead stood in the middle of the clearing. Hikaru was terrified. What had he done?

Suddenly, there was a scream. In some miraculous way, Kaoru had managed to get free, retrieved his sword and killed his captors. Now he was running towards Haruhi and the soldiers like a wind. One of the men fell with a throwing knife embedded in his throat and the other was cut down by Kaoru's sword. Not paying attention to the gasping man on the ground, Kaoru kneed beside Haruhi and pulled her into his arms.

"Haruhi, wake up. Come on now." He pleaded, golden eyes filled with fear and panic.

Tamaki finally managed to defeat the second in command. He ran to Haruhi and Kaoru, crouching at his girlfriend's side.

"Please love…" Haruhi's eyelids twitched slightly at Tamaki's voice. She groaned loudly and slowly opened her eyes.

"Thank god." Kaoru sighed in relief, helping Haruhi to sit up.

"Ugh… Hurts." The girl grumbled, rubbing her head. Tamaki smiled shakily and kissed her forehead lightly.

"Please don't scare me like that Haruhi…" He whispered and then stood up again. The blonde turned to the last remaining living soldier, who was still lying in a heap, gasping.

Usually warm violet eyes turned hard and cold. One hand was raised and Hikaru gasped in surprise as the soldier was lifted up. He continued to float upwards until he hanged in the air, three meters above the ground. Realizing his weird position, he started to trash wildly, growling in fear.

"No one lays a finger on Haruhi." Tamaki's voice sent chills down Hikaru's spine. "Doesn't matter if you're young or old, man or woman, dead or alive. I won't allow anyone to hurt her, ever." The floating man gasped loudly when he felt how the air from his lungs was being drawn out from his body. He chipped after air, but it was pointless. He was suffocating.

Tamaki only glared at him, and emptied his lungs completely. "This is my magic. Now die."

Hikaru could only stare as the poor man twitched and trembled, his chest moving in and out quickly, searching for oxygen which wasn't there. After two minutes he was dead, head hanging on his chest and skin an unnatural blue colour. Tamaki released him and he fell to the ground.

"What happened here? Are you all alright?" Kyouya and Mori had returned. Mori immediately went and picked up Honey, who was starting to wake up. Tamaki had taken Haruhi from Kaoru, and was checking her over carefully. The girl protested half-heartily, reassuring him that she was fine. Hikaru still stood frozen.

"We had some problems, but we're fine now." Tamaki smiled brightly, giving Haruhi a kiss on the cheek.

Kaoru sat on the ground, eyes hidden beneath his long hair. "Are you okay too Kao-chan?" Honey asked, grimacing as Mori cleaned up the wound on his head. The younger twin didn't answer.

"Kaoru?"

All were silent as Kaoru slowly stood up. He walked up to Hikaru, stopping right in front of him. Then, in a flash, he drew back his arm and punched the other twin hard, right in the face. Hikaru stumbled backwards, clutching his hand over his aching cheek. His auburn eyes were wide with shock. "What the…?"

"Kaoru!" Haruhi screamed angrily. She and the other rebels were staring at the redhead. Mori went to pull Kaoru back from Hikaru, but the younger brother slapped his hand away with an irritated growl. His furious eyes shot daggers at Hikaru from beneath his messy hair.

"You idiot!" He roared, taking a threatening step closer to his twin. "How can you be so thoughtless, so damn ignorant? You almost killed her!"

"Kaoru, leave him alone!" Haruhi removed Tamaki's arms and stood up, glaring at Kaoru.

Hikaru fidgeted with his robe, lowering his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Doesn't bloody matter! How can you just throw around your magic like that? She is pregnant for gods sake!"

Haruhi grabbed Kaoru's arm and yanked him away from Hikaru. "Calm down. The baby's fine, my healing power is protecting it."

Kaoru threw his long ponytail over his shoulder, glaring at the other twin. "Still, he almost killed you. He is a danger to all of us. How much he tries, he will never be one of us."

Hikaru tensed, feeling a cold knife pierce his heart. He looked up with teary, angry eyes, just in time to see Haruhi slap Kaoru hard across the cheek.

"Stop it!" She spat, small body trembling in anger. "You're so unfair! Get over yourself Kaoru, stop being so cruel and cold." She glared at the dumbstruck boy and walked over to Hikaru. "Hikaru saved my life. If it was not for him I'd be dead now. Remember that before you throw hurtful words around you." With that she turned completely from Kaoru and embraced Hikaru tightly.

"Thank you Hikaru." Hikaru sighed deeply and wrapped his arms around the small girl, ignoring Kaoru and the rest of the rebels for the moment. He just wanted to sleep and forget about this mess.

O-O-O-O-O

Later that evening Haruhi left the other rebels around the campfire and went to find Hikaru. The rebels had left the clearing, blood and dead soldiers everywhere in the soft grass. They had been too careless, not expecting Raikou's soldiers to find their trail so soon. It had been too close, they had been completely unprepared and outnumbered. From now on they would have to be more careful, travelling faster and quieter.

Haruhi stepped over the soft grass on light feet, spotting a slender figure sitting on a rock some meters in front of her. Hikaru had his arms wrapped around his knees and were peering up at the stars.

"Hey." Haruhi greeted quietly, sitting down next to him. The boy only nodded, continuing to study the balls of fire high above, trying to comprehend the real size of those tiny dots.

Haruhi joined him in his staring, sitting silent for a while, before sighing deeply. "I'm so sorry about today Hikaru. You have only been with us for a few weeks, and you already have to kill and fight for your life." Golden eyes had turned from the sky and were now studying her hesitantly. Haruhi smiled gently and placed a hand on his shoulder. "And please try to not mind Kaoru. He didn't mean what he said, he was just so scared. We're like brothers and sisters you see. We grew up together."

"Yeah, I know." Hikaru muttered. "I'm also sorry Haruhi. I didn't mean for it to hit you. At least it knocked that bastard too."

"You saved my life. You have nothing to apologize for."

They sunk into a comfortable silence, and Haruhi raised her eyes to the stars again. If she squinted a bit one of the star clouds looked like a fish. Another one looked like a turkey. Mm turkey…

"My life is insane."

She made a jolt and turned to Hikaru, raising one eyebrow. His eyes were lost somewhere in the darkness, where hers couldn't follow.

"I lived my life as any normal teenager, in my world. I knew what was true and what was false. What was reality and what was fantasy. A dream would always stay a dream; you always had to wake up at some point. Then lightning strikes, and everything I ever knew and learnt is turned upside down. Nothing is the same. Suddenly there is no boundary between fantasy and reality. I love it."

He turned to face the girl, eyes shining in determination. "_This_ is my life now. _This_ is my world. And I'm not giving it up. Kaoru, no everyone, can think and say what they want. I'm going to become a rebel. I'm going to be one of you."

"You already are one of us, you always were." Haruhi smiled warmly. Then she looked down and took a deep breath. She had to know…

"Your Kaoru… He's dead, isn't he?"

Her soft words cut like a laser through the night. Hikaru looked at her with sad, tired eyes and nodded.

"Yes."

"I'm so sorry." She said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Me too." He mumbled, eyes searching the dark again. "That's why I'm not giving up this world, it's my new chance."

He patted her head lightly and pulled his arms tighter around himself. "Don't tell the others."

Haruhi nodded slowly. Inwardly she groaned at Hikaru's stupidity. If he'd only tell the others, especially one special other, everything would get so much easier.

**O-O-O-O-O**

**Writing battle-scenes is so bloody hard! Seriously, that was really crappy and I apologize. I'm not used to writing action, after all I've most written romance and humour before. And smut… Hehe. If anyone wants to give me a hand and some advice with how to write battle-scenes, please contact me!**

**I've noticed that all men who are villains in my fics, are also pedophiles/perverts/rapists. Interesting. I must really enjoy molesting and harassing my main characters.**

**Answer to KuroPika X: Kaoru is awesome at acting! But really, that's canon. I'm only using his wonderful talent to have some fun with perverted, older men. Poor Kao. And Kyouya did deserve getting his butt kicked after sending Kao as a bait to a pedo. Well… I didn't update soon and I'm so sorry for that : (. Hope you still enjoyed this chapter! Hugs Custard**

**Answer to Cheshire: You have all right to be pushy, I'm a lazy bastard who needs a kick in the ass sometimes. Sorry about the long wait :/, now I'm back! I didn't lose interest in this story, but I had a huge writing block I guess. I wouldn't just abandon a story without letting my readers know it in someway. So I might be slow, but I'm also very stubborn! I'm glad you like the story, thank you so much :D. Hugs Custard**

**I won't take five weeks to have the next chapter up, I promise. Again I apologize, dear readers. Please bear with me. After your lovely reviews for last chapter and after I was an absent author bastard, I have no right at all to beg you for reviews. But still… Please?**

**/Midnight Custard**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello dear readers! I'm happy to bring you another chapter of this story. I've noticed that I'll have 100 reviews soon! You are the best readers ever, thank you :D.**

**I don't own Ouran High School Host Club, I'm just borrowing and playing with a genius's creation.**

**Have a good read!**

**O-O-O-O-O**

Raikou lifted his glass to his lips, emptying the last few drops of wine. He held the glass in front of his face, tilting it left and right thoughtfully, before finally putting it back on the table.

"There's something off with the wine." He turned piercing golden eyes on the man sitting on the other side of the table. "Don't you agree Ootori?"

The dark-haired man shrugged and took another bite of his well-roasted beef.

Raikou clucked his tongue in thought and frowned. "Yes. Yes, something's odd. It's probably old." He dabbed his mouth gently with his silken napkin. "I'll have to investigate who's behind it. Which little creep in the palace who's responsible for serving me old wine…"

Kyouya's father snorted and a nasty smirk stretched his thin lips. "Raikou Raikou… Shouldn't you worry less about the wine, and more about my bastard son and his rebel brats?" He finished his own wine and raised one eyebrow at the Emperor. "They are causing problems… We now stand without a healer because of devil twin number two."

The Emperor growled and cracked his knuckles, sparks of electricity escaping his clutched fists. "I know… My nephew is a pain in the ass." He relaxed his hands and leaned back in his chair. "At least I'll be able to get my hands on some more magicians. I have a man on his way here, a pathetic mini villain named Gulliver. He'll give me the location of some hidden magicians and in return I'll give him gold." He chuckled coldly. "Or at least that's what I told him. That poor, gullible idiot."

There was a soft knock on the door. "Your highness?"

"Come in." Raikou twirled his long, black hair lazily while he studied the nervous servant who stepped inside.

"Your highness, we've got reports from the soldiers who were sent to Tairaka."

Well-trimmed eyebrows rose in interest. The young servant cleared his throat and fidgeted uncomfortably.

"When our groups arrived, Tairaka was completely empty. All habitants had abandoned the village."

The wine glasses trembled as a furious fist connected with the table. "What the hell!"

"They knew we were coming." Yoshio Ootori pondered. His calm, steel grey eyes met raging golden eyes. "Raikou, it seems like we have a leak."

Raikou snorted. "It seems like we does. And when I find that parasite I'll rip his dirty heart out."

"Excuse me sir, I have some more news."

"Yeah, yeah. Let me hear them." The Emperor sighed tiredly.

"One of our rangers found tracks after the rebels, and a small force of twenty-five men went after them into the forest. They have not yet returned and the soldier lead suspects that they have been killed."

Raikou was shaking in anger and he clutched the table-end tightly, making already pale hands become white. "You don't send twenty-five men to hunt down the rebels! They may be kids, but they're still more deadly than my nit witted soldiers. Send word to Akira that he'll take their best riders and go after the rebels. The rest shall search for Tairaka's lost citizens." He threw the hair out of his face irritated. "And burn that cursed rat-hole!"

The servant bowed stiffly. "Yes your highness." He straightened up. "My final news is about a man, I believe his name was Gulliver. He was found murdered at the inn he stayed at. Some guests at the inn said that Gulliver seduced a young man the night he was killed, a stranger with long red hair."

A loud crash was heard together with Raikou's hissing and tiny shards of glass flew in every direction. The Emperor had smashed his wine glass against the wall.

"Ah." Ootori sighed. "Kaoru Hitachiin."

Raikou pulled his hair, sizzling in frustration. "That deceiving, evil whore from hell!"

"I'll take my leave sir." The servant bowed once again and then escaped the furious Emperor's dining chamber. He almost ran right into the maid who was on her way in.

"I'll rip off every limb from his body, while he's still alive, cook and eat them…" The mighty ruler of Zenbi had gotten up from his chair, and was now pacing around, ranting angrily.

Yoshio Ootori stayed in his chair, watching Raikou's antics with a bored expression. "Why don't you let me go after the boy?" He leant forward eagerly, a greedy glint in his dark eyes. Raikou stopped in his tracks, almost knocking the maid over. The blonde girl squeaked and immediately continued brushing up the glass.

"He has no powers, but he's still affected by the water element. My fire powers will break him. Send me, Raikou."

The Emperor sighed deeply and shook his head. "I need you here by my side Ootori, at least for now." The sitting man made a displeased noise. The maid was now halfway under the table, searching for lingering treacherous shards.

"Oh, that reminds me. They got your daughter." Raikou smirked at the other man.

"Fuyumi?" Yoshio's voice was cold. "Good."

The Emperor chuckled. "Really Ootori… Do you have any kids who aren't traitors?"

The older man ignored the remark and stood up. "Where are you keeping her?"

"You know the great valley near the ocean? I have a strong military fortress there." Raikou and Yoshio were on their way out of the room. "Don't you worry _Daddy_, your baby girl is kept with others of her sorts. Will be interesting to see how long she'll survive." He chuckled lightly, before turning in the door post, looking back at the maid.

"The wine was bad. I want you to find out who's responsible. Can you do that for me?" He smiled when she nodded quickly. He turned and headed out after Yoshio.

"Great. You're a good girl, Renge-chan."

O-O-O-O-O

After the attack, the rebels had travelled through Zenbi's vast forests at a great speed. They only stopped to eat and sleep, not having time to continue Hikaru's training anymore. The fast pace had not been in vain though, there had not been any more encounters with Raikou's soldiers this far. According to Kyouya, they were nearing the ocean. The thick vegetation was thinning out and was replaced with wide fields and green hills.

Hikaru sank down on an inviting tuft of grass with a loud huff. Kyouya and Tamaki sat down on each side of him, the blonde leader taking off his sandals and whining about his aching feet. The redhead didn't listen. Instead he watched as Honey threw himself down a hill nearby, rolling downwards with a reckless speed while giggling. His tall, silent comrade stood by the bottom of the hill, magically mending the grass which had been broken by the small blonde. Haruhi and Kaoru were crouching next to the fireplace, talking quietly as water ran from Kaoru's fingertips and down into the large cauldron.

"What a clear, blue sky." Kyouya's dignified voice cut through Tamaki's constant blabbering like a knife through butter. "Pity."

Hikaru raised one eyebrow quizzically. "Huh?"

"We need another lightning storm soon." Kyouya turned hard eyes on the twin. "You've used your powers so much, it won't be long until you're uncharged again."

"Aw fuck no!" Hikaru groaned and slapped a hand over his face. "I thought I would only need to charge up one time…"

"Oh of course not!" Tamaki twittered, removing Hikaru's hand from his face. "To use our magic we need to be "full" of it. In your case that means getting charged with electricity, from lightning. I, on the other hand, only need to be at a place were it's somewhat windy!"

Hikaru's bottom lip pouted moodily. "That's so unfair… It's "somewhat windy" practically everywhere. Lightning storms don't happen often at all!"

"Actually, it's quite fair." Kyouya calmly stated. "You can only use your powers when you're charged, but if you aren't charged that won't affect your physical and mental ability. If I remember correctly, our earlier Hikaru even had a way to store electricity, through some object of his. It's hard for the others, because they will get negatively affected if they aren't in close proximity to their elements. If our king here is at a windless place, a desert for example, he'll get really weak. Honey doesn't like too much water, Mori and Kaoru gets affected by drought, and Haruhi is uncomfortable in completely dark places."

"That sucks. And you?"

"I need shadows to use my magic, but like you I don't suffer if there are none."

Suddenly Tamaki made a loud squeal, which made Hikaru and Kyouya almost bump foreheads.

"Kya! Just look at her!" The blonde pointed enthusiastically at Haruhi, who was still preparing lunch with the younger twin. "Look at that super cute belly!" His cheeks flushed with pride. "That bump is our child, OUR little son or daughter!" He started squirming on the ground, clutching at his heart. "I'll finally be a father!"

"Eh excuse me for saying, but wasn't this quite a bad timing to knock her up? I mean you're fighting the Emperor and his armies." Hikaru asked curiously.

The dark magician chuckled as Tamaki reddened and started to fidget with his kimono. "Well… It was not… not you know, like on purpose…" He mumbled.

"What?" Hikaru rolled his eyes. "You pervert, have you never heard about protection?"

He wanted to sink through the dirt when both Kyouya and Tamaki frowned.

"Protection? What kind of protection?" The blonde asked, confused.

"You know…" Now it was Hikaru's turn to blush. "Protection so you won't make the girl pregnant."

Kyouya looked very interested (a slightly disturbing look on him) and grabbed his notebook. "You have that in your world? What a great idea! Tell me how it works."

"Hell no!"

Later, after having consumed a satisfying lunch, the youths sprawled themselves out in the soft grass. They had decided to not travel any further this day, since all were pretty tired and worn out. That, and Tamaki's feet hurt. Badly. The tall blonde was now getting a foot rub from his better half. Suddenly Honey stood up and cleared his throat loudly.

"Hika-chan!" His childish voice somehow managed to sound authoritarian. "Me and Takashi have decided that you passed our training." He clapped his hands enthusiastically and Tamaki and Mori followed his example. Hikaru rubbed his temples tiredly.

"But," Honey's eyes suddenly sparkled with some kind of sadistic mirth, which had Hikaru wanting to run and hide beneath the Emperor's bed. "Before we dub you a true rebel, you have to challenge one of us to a wrestling match!"

The other rebels gaped, apparently not been informed about this. Hikaru, on the other hand, stood up, smirking.

"Kaoru." Said rebel looked incredulously at his older brother. "I challenge you to a wrestling match."

First Kaoru looked confused, then shocked, then amused and finally downright terrifying. He also stood up, and faced his twin brother. Two sets of determined auburn eyes met.

"I accept."

O-O-O-O-O

Kaoru strapped his hair up in a tighter ponytail, making sure that all loose tresses were held back. He and Hikaru had changed from long kimonos to loose shirts and pants. They were both preparing for the fight, but in slightly different ways. Kaoru was sitting with his legs crossed, humming a soft tune. Hikaru was jogging back and forth, stopping now and then to make all kinds of odd stretching exercises. The other rebels were talking quietly, apparently not wanting to disturb the fighters to be. Well, Kyouya didn't seem to mind.

"You made a good choice Hikaru." The stretching twin paused his movements and looked curiously at Kyouya. The dark haired boy nodded and sent a small smirk in Kaoru's direction. "Kaoru has never been very good at wrestling. He's not that adept at close combat at all actually." The younger twin glared heatedly at the dark magician. "He prefers to sneak up on his prey when they're asleep. That, or he seduces them before slitting their throats."

"Shut up Kyouya…" Kaoru growled, glaring daggers at the amused boy. Hikaru's face showed an interesting mix of disturbance, jealousy and embarrassment. "It's not like you're much better than me, you're terrible at wrestling as well." Kaoru continued, hotly.

Kyouya snorted. "I would never sink so low as to wrestle." He looked disgusted at the mere thought. "I spare that kind of activity to lesser men."

Just as both twins prepared to jump the shadow king, Mori stepped forward. "Hikaru, Kaoru. Are you ready?"

Hikaru nodded eagerly and Kaoru got up from his sitting position. The rest of the rebels were gathered around them, watching the scene curiously.

"Okay then," Mori grunted. "The match begins… Now!"

The twins stood staring at each other awkwardly. Who'd attack first? Kaoru shuffled his feet, this was getting ridiculous. He took a deep breath and then pounced on Hikaru, knocking him to the ground.

"Agh!" Hikaru groaned when his back hit the ground hard. Kaoru landed, straddling his torso, and he immediately went for his twin's hands, trying to pin them down. Unfortunately Hikaru noticed what he was doing, and bucked up violently, throwing Kaoru off.

"Don't think so…" In a flash, Hikaru was on top of Kaoru instead. Soon they were locked in a heated duel, equal in strength. Kaoru might have been more experienced and a bit quicker than Hikaru, but the older twin made up for it in stubbornness and enthusiasm. Whenever Kaoru managed to get the upper hand it wasn't long before Hikaru turned the tables.

The younger twin stared into passionate, golden eyes and smiled. He was having fun wrestling with his brother. Also, Kaoru always got horny by fighting and having his body entangled with his twin's felt familiar and exciting. The younger brother was starting to forget all about the challenge, the other rebels and other worlds. Not even the Emperor mattered at the moment. Then, Hikaru pushed down forcefully on Kaoru's shoulders and let out a frustrated groan. Kaoru lost it.

With an impressive amount of strength, he rolled them over quickly. His hands went up and pinned Hikaru's down before the other had a chance to comprehend what was going on. Then, Kaoru smashed his lips on Hikaru's. Not noticing the look of shock in his brother's eyes, or how the captured body just froze, Kaoru eagerly thrust his tongue between the tempting lips. Oh how he'd missed these lips, this mouth. He let out a small moan as he traced Hikaru's teeth with his tongue, before rubbing up cosily against Hikaru's own tongue.

"Eh… Kaoru?"

Hmm? What? Weren't they alone? And what was up with Hikaru's hair, why was it so… OH SHIT!

Kaoru flew off like he'd got an electric shock. Hikaru was staring at him, his face a deep crimson. All the others were staring at him too. Kaoru wanted to evaporate into steam. Now he'd really done it, molesting and shoving his tongue down the throat of the WRONG Hikaru. Was he really this stupid? He remembered what Kyouya had told him some days earlier, "Apparently, in his world, Hikaru and Kaoru weren't in a intimate relationship." The poor world-traveller must have gotten terrified by Kaoru's sudden advances. This was great, just great…

"Uh.. I.. Shit…" He stumbled over his own words, refusing to look his twin in the eyes. "Sorry." He mumbled, before jumping up and running off, leaving the still gaping rebels behind.

O-O-O-O-O

Hikaru gingerly crawled up on his knees, trying to force away the blush staining his cheeks. What the hell had just happened?

"Well, Kao-chan kind of cheated," Honey chuckled nervously, "therefore Hika-chan wins!"

"Awesome." Hikaru mumbled distantly. He couldn't get rid of the pleasant feeling Kaoru's lips had left on his own. What the fuck… He really shouldn't have enjoyed that as much as he had.

Haruhi crouched down next to him, looking concerned. "Are you alright Hikaru?"

"Yeah I'm good." He smiled weakly at her. "Just a bit confused. I think that my dear brother and I need to have a small chat…"

"That would probably be a good idea." Kyouya nodded in agreement. "He ran off towards that motte we passed earlier. Probably heading for the waterfall."

Hikaru raised one eyebrow. What business could his twin have with a waterfall? "Eh okay. Thanks." He rose and dusted off his rumpled and dirty clothes. "Guess I'm going then. See ya." If I'll come back alive… He added mentally.

Turning his back on his friends, he started walking in the direction Kaoru had gone. If he listened carefully he could hear the sound of falling water even from here. The closer he got to the group of trees, the louder the noise became. He swallowed nervously. It was likely he was on the way towards his own death, but even so he had to do this. He needed to patch things up with Kaoru before he'd go insane. And, he thought determinately, Kaoru had kissed him after all. His twin owed him at least one small talk. Filled with new courage and determination, Hikaru stepped in between the trees and headed towards the waterfall. He'd put an end to this ridiculous disagreement once and for all. It was getting old anyway. Now where could his bothersome brother be? There was the waterfall, and Kyouya had said that…

Oh Jesus freaking Christ.

He found him. Under the waterfall. Facing away. NAKED. His twin had run away to take a shower? Hikaru bit his lip. Should he say something and get Kaoru's attention? Would Kaoru get mad? Of course he would… Ah shit. The older twin took a deep breath and opened his mouth…

…And closed it again. Hikaru's eyes widened as he watched Kaoru stretch languidly, the muscles in his lean thighs flexing. Hmm. Or he could just wait until Kaoru was finished with his shower. Quick as lightning, he dove in behind a conveniently placed rock.

"Is anybody there?"

Oh crap! Hikaru's heart stopped when Kaoru turned his head and searched the area suspiciously. Fortunately Kaoru didn't see him and turned around again. That had been close, too close… Damn, now he had no choice but to stay hidden and keep silent. Ah look, if he leaned a bit to the left he could see Kaoru… His hair was loose, falling down his back and reaching down to his ass. When he stretched again the hair went up a little and Hikaru could see those tempting round… STOP! What the fuck was wrong with him? Hikaru groaned inwardly, feeling ashamed. He was peeping at his little brother.

The older twin touched his lips absentmindedly. Kissing, or rather getting kissed by, Kaoru had been kind of hot. Did that mean that he liked him? Probably, Hikaru pondered. To be honest he'd always held a little more than just brotherly feelings towards his twin. But it was so wrong! They were twins!

Suddenly, Kaoru grabbed his hair, pulled it over his shoulders and started to wash it. With the hair out of the way Hikaru had a full view of Kaoru's back and backside. Hikaru had to clasp a hand over his mouth to stifle a loud gasp. Across Kaoru's back was a long, curved scar. It started at his right shoulder and continued down, crossing his spine. It reached down to his bottom, ending abruptly on his left buttock.

Hikaru felt how the rage boiled up within him. Who had done that to his twin? Who was responsible for marring his skin like that? He'd track that bastard down and kill him…

It seemed like Kaoru was finished with his shower. He stepped out from beneath the water and shook his hair like a wet dog. Hikaru watched mesmerized when the water drops on Kaoru's body lifted from his skin and floated upwards like a shining film of water. Hikaru couldn't stop from letting his eyes roam over his brother's body. Crap, why did Kaoru have to be so damn beautiful… On their way up Kaoru's torso his eyes stopped on a silver medallion, which was hanging around his brother's neck. It was beautiful.

Kaoru reached for his clothes and put them back on. Hikaru sighed, relieved. Now he could finally relax and stop his perverted behaviour. He'd just stay here until Kaoru left. Everything was going to be fine!

"Hikaru, you can come out now."

O-O-O-O-O

Kaoru groaned in pleasure as the chilly water poured down his body. He really needed a nice, relaxing shower after the catastrophe he'd just been the cause of. How could he have been so utterly stupid? A sudden sound from behind made Kaoru freeze.

"Is anybody there?" He asked sharply, turning to search for an intruder. Auburn eyes zoomed in on a rock not far from the waterfall. There was a foot sticking out from behind it. A foot which looked exactly like one of his own.

The twin turned back to his shower. He had company. Great. Kaoru sighed deeply and shook his head. Well, he guessed he could let Hikaru watch him for a while. He owed him that after the molesting. Deciding to not worry about his peeping brother right now, Kaoru relaxed and stretched.

He smiled slightly. That clumsy clone had been nothing but trouble since he'd shown up. But at least, Kaoru was regaining his powers, just like Kyouya had said that he would.

Kaoru washed his hair and finished the shower quickly. He dried himself, using his power, and then stepped into his clothes. It was time to have a little talk with Hikaru…

"Hikaru, you can come out now."

"HEH?" Kaoru almost chuckled when his twin's shocked face met his. Hikaru cleared his throat awkwardly and stood up. He was blushing fiercely, refusing to meet Kaoru's eyes.

"I guess you're here to talk about what happened." Kaoru sighed, flipping his hair behind his ears. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. It won't happen again."

The older twin nodded slowly, before rubbing his neck and taking a tentative step forward. "Eh well, that was not all I wanted to talk about actually."

Kaoru tensed. He did not want to talk to this idiot version of his twin. Hikaru didn't seem to care though. He lifted his eyes and looked determinately at Kaoru.

"Why do you hate me so much?"

The water magician raised one eyebrow. Was the stranger so dumb that he hadn't realized?

"You don't know?" He walked closer to Hikaru, eying him coldly. "You come out of nowhere and into my life. You look exactly like my brother, my twin who I loved more than anything. My twin who'll never come back."

Hikaru narrowed his eyes. "Well, I kind of am him you know…"

"No, you're not!" Kaoru snarled. "You are just an intruder, I don't want you here!" He was heating up, letting out all aggression and anger. "Why don't you just go back to your own world, to your own Kaoru? Oh and talking about him, how could you leave him?" Kaoru was almost screaming, pointing at Hikaru accusingly. "You still have your twin, alive, and you just left him! How could you? Is he's as pathetic as you? I guess he is. Probably even worse! But even if your brother is a whiny, stupid brat it's not okay to leave…"

"SHUT UP!"

Hikaru roared, clutching his fists together tightly. "I get that you're angry about your twin's death and I know that I am not him, but you're acting so damn unfair! Whatever crawled up your ass you need to get it out, cause I'm not taking anymore of your shit!" Hikaru's entire body shook in barely restricted anger. "And just so you know, I would never have left my Kaoru. He is dead. Just like your Hikaru. Try to remember that before you insult him the next time." Sending Kaoru one last heated glare, Hikaru turned on his heels and marched off.

Kaoru stood frozen on the spot, deaf to the lulling song of the waterfall.

"I didn't know…"

**O-O-O-O-O**

**We finally have a breakthrough in the Hikaru-Kaoru conflict! I promise things will turn better from here ^^. **

**Soo… I gave you both a kissing scene and stripped (and scarred) Kaoru, I deserve some more of those lovely reviews, right? Maybe, if you're very very generous, we'll make it to hundred! **

**Answer to lotlot: Not on hiatus, but I understand that you thought so . So sorry about that terribly long waiting time. I'm happy you enjoyed the fighting scene though! Thanks :D. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and will continue to read ^^. Hugs Custard**

**Answer to Hikachu: Oh wow, take it easy! You're frightening me here xD. Thank you so much, I'm very happy that you like my story! Haha, interesting that it can conjure such heated feelings though, it's not my intention to kill or anger anyone xD. Thank you so much for reviewing sweetie! Hugs Custard**

**Answer to Cheshie: Hmm, are you Chesire? Haha no, fighting scenes really aren't my forte at all xD. I'm happy that you didn't think it was complete rubbish, thank you! Well, I have to be hard on myself, otherwise I'd never get anything done ^^. Thank you for the lovely review and the cookie! Hugs Custard**

**I can't grasp that so many seem to enjoy this story, it makes me so damn happy that I just want to sing out loud! You're the greatest, thank you so much for reading!**

**/Midnight Custard**


	10. Chapter 10

**Punch me, curse me, hate me. I'm back.**

**I don't deserve such loyal, wonderful readers as you, well if I still have any of you left. Why haven't I updated in over two months? I wish I could tell you that my computer has been shitty or maybe that I've been very sick. But that would not have been true. I'm fine and so is my computer (Mac 3). I've just been very very uninspired and lazy.**

**Some of you sent me a kick in the butt, asking why I wasn't updating. That is a very smart thing to do, I immediately feel very ashamed and start writing again.**

**Also, this chapter has been a pain in the ass. It's very long, almost 6000 words. Unfortunately it isn't that great or exciting (according to myself), actually I'm unhappy with some parts of it. But on the good side, it has lots and lots of Hikaru-Kaoru-interaction (No smut yet, sorry).**

**Warnings: Well, a little bit of blood, a little bit of swearing, a little bit of bodily contact.**

**I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or any of it's character, but the universe in which this story takes place is all mine.**

**I bring chapter 10, sorry for the wait.**

**O-O-O-O-O**

God, he felt stupid.

Stupid, cruel. Downright mean actually. He felt like the evil Emperor's niece or something. Which he actually was. Therefore, everything he'd said and done was practically Raikou's fault. His cruel gene pool's fault.

Kaoru sighed deeply, his eyes methodically searching the dark fields for any kind of danger. Sure, he could blame his awful behaviour on his dear uncle, but that would not make things better between him and Hikaru. He would simply just need to be nicer from now on. It shouldn't be too hard. He used to be nice, nice and happy, but that was before _that_ happened.

Kaoru had guard-duty during the two darkest hours of the night. He smiled fondly at his sleeping friends and swept irritating locks out of his face. At least he still had family left. And he'd do anything to protect them. Golden eyes stopped on Hikaru's form. The stranger kind of was part of the family now.

The wind grabbed his hair and brought it back to rest in the middle of his face. Kaoru snorted and brushed it aside once more. He chuckled slightly. It was quite ironic actually. Through their entire lives Kaoru had usually been more mature than Hikaru. This time their roles were reversed. Hikaru was calm and had accepted the new situation, while Kaoru himself kept whining about it like a stubborn child. His older brother had taken all of this so much better than he had. Well, it was about time that he got to act like the pest of a little brother that he really was.

A slight rustling behind him made the redhead spin around, hand on the handle of his sword. Amber, narrowed eyes met the wide, brown ones of a deer. The animal watched him for a moment, before lowering it's beautiful head to continue grazing. Kaoru relaxed and watched the calm deer for a while. He raised one auburn eyebrow. It wasn't at all bothered by his presence. Kaoru shrugged and turned back to the other rebels again.

How had the other Kaoru been? How had he died? During battle? He was curious about the other pair of twins. He'd try to apologize to Hikaru, and maybe they would start to get along. It was quite likely that he had already burnt all possibilities for a friendship though.

Suddenly something landed on his right shoulder and Kaoru nearly screeched in surprise. It was that damn bat. Relieved, he grabbed the dark magician's pet carefully and brought it in front of him. There was a small paper roll fastened to one of its feet.

"Good bat, you've brought us news." Kaoru murmured quietly and stood up, the winged creature still in hand. He slinked up next to Kyouya's bedroll, knowing better than to read the older rebel's mail.

"Kyouya." He whispered and nudged the sleeping one slightly with his foot. Immediately one pale hand shot out and grasped his ankle. Kyouya pulled harshly and in the next second Kaoru landed hard on his ass.

"Ah it's you Kaoru." Kyouya sat up from his roll, yawning widely. "And why, may I ask, are you waking me up at this ungodly hour?" He glanced coldly at the dishevelled twin.

Kaoru rubbed his aching rear and glared back at Kyouya. "Something came for you." He shoved the bat up in Kyouya's face. The dark-haired boy immediately focused his attention on the creature and carefully unfastened the roll. He turned so the weak light from their modest fire hit the paper, rolled it out and started reading. The bat flapped back to Kaoru and sat down on his shoulder. Both watched silently as Kyouya's fingers tightened around the paper.

"They have Fuyumi." Kyouya spoke lowly, jaw tightly clenched.

"Your sister?" Kaoru asked, worry evident on his handsome face.

Dark grey eyes scanned the paper. "She's held captive in the fortress in the valley. Near here."

Kaoru frowned deeply. "Isn't that fortress ours? Benio was in charge there last time I heard about it!"

"Guess she isn't anymore. Raikou must have found them out. She's probably a prisoner too, along with my sister."

A slender hand latched onto the dark magician's shoulder and Kaoru stared into Kyouya's eyes with a fiery determination.

"We have to help them."

Kyouya sighed deeply and sent the bat off with a small wave. "I know." He looked on as the animal disappeared into the darkness and then rose from his bedroll.

"Go to sleep Kaoru, I'll take your shift. I need some time to plan this out."

The redhead nodded and went to curl up on his own bedroll.

O-O-O-O-O

"Hika-chan..."

Hikaru groaned and pressed his head further down into his fluffy makeshift grass pillow. A small hand shook him roughly. "Hika-chan!"

"Ngh what it is Honey-senpai?" Hikaru forced his tired eyes open.

"You have to get up, the rest are already awake. We have a job to do."

Honey was unusually serious. It made Hikaru snap out of his tiredness and he sat up straight. "What?" But Honey had already left to sit down around the fire along with the other rebels.

Hikaru had a bad feeling about this… What was going on? He sat down next to Haruhi, who smiled at him and wished him a good morning. The rebels were tense and quiet, seemingly waiting for something. Then Kyouya spoke.

"The Emperor has taken over the old rebel fortress in the valley near us. There he's holding my sister captive, and it's likely that she isn't the only prisoner."

The other rebels looked shocked but said nothing, listening intently to the magician.

"We are going to attack the fortress, eliminate the soldiers and free the prisoners. The valley isn't far from here, it'll only take about three hours to get there."

Tamaki nodded, looking quite upset. "Of course. We have to rescue Fuyumi! And Benio and the others." He cocked his head slightly. "But how do we do this? Do you have a plan?"

Kyouya huffed, as if insulted. "Of course I have a plan. Listen carefully." He ordered, pulling out his small notebook. "We'll attack the fortress from two directions. We'll head straight for the main gate but we'll also sneak into the fortress through the "backdoor". There is a secret tunnel leading to the cellar of the building. The tunnel is very hard to find and I doubt that the soldiers know about it. Taking over the fortress will be easy if we split up."

He flipped a page in his book and fastened his hard eyes on Honey and Mori. "However, there will probably reside more soldiers in the guard tower at the top of the valley. We don't want them to either shoot us down or send a message to the Emperor. I need you two, Honey- and Mori-senpai, to get rid of the tower soldiers."

"You can count on us Kyo-chan!" Honey beamed, excited flames dancing over his hands.

"Yeah." Mori added, cracking his knuckles.

Kyouya smirked slightly. "Good. Well then, I will go for the gate and I want you Kaoru to sneak in through the tunnel. The poor soldiers will be caught between us." Hikaru suppressed a shiver at Kyouya's cold smile.

"As for the rest of you, I want two with me and one with Kaoru. Hikaru, I think it'd be best if you…"

"He can come with me."

All rebels turned to stare at Kaoru in surprise. Tamaki was gaping and Kyouya raised one eyebrow. The younger redhead cleared his throat and lowered his gaze. "That is if he wants to of course."

Hikaru stared at his twin in shock. Had Kaoru just volunteered to spend more time with him than what was absolutely necessary? The older brother just nodded dumbfounded, he didn't know what to think.

"Fine. Then Tamaki and Haruhi will come with me." Kyouya closed his notebook with a smack. "We'll split up and head for our destinations after breakfast."

O-O-O-O-O

Two identical redheads strode quickly over the fields and through the thickets of trees. They were both dressed in black ninja robes (it wasn't a good idea to run around in bright green and blue when trying to sneak into the enemy's fortress). Hikaru felt uneasy. He didn't understand why Kaoru suddenly wanted him as company. He still felt anger and hurt towards the rebel twin, for insulting both himself and his own Kaoru. The longhaired redhead seemed nervous as well, he kept sneaking glances at Hikaru, and sometimes opened his mouth, as if to say something. Only he didn't. It was embarrassingly quiet between them.

Hikaru glared at the ground and kicked some grass tufts, irritated. This was so damn uncomfortable! Suddenly Kaoru wrapped his slender fingers around Hikaru's arm, stopping him. The older twin stopped and looked curiously at his fidgeting brother.

"I didn't know your twin was dead. I'm sorry."

Hikaru raised his brows, not believing his eyes. Kaoru's hand clenched tightly around his arm and he kept staring at the ground.

"I've been unfair to you. You're not useless. Not at all. Actually you're learning incredibly fast." He let go off Hikaru's arm and raised his head, looking at his bother with a weak smile. "Hikaru died just months ago and I had no idea of how to carry on. I've practically been a ghost since he disappeared. Therefore it really upset me when you came here. Salt in the wounds, if you know what I mean." He laughed bitterly. "Still, that doesn't excuse my terrible behaviour towards you. It must have been hard for you too, and I just made it worse by picking on you. I even went as far as to insult your dead brother. That's unforgivable. If you'd insulted Hikaru, I'd have killed you." Hikaru didn't quite enjoy how serious Kaoru looked when he said that last part.

"Anyway, I owe you an apology." He stroked a rebellious curl behind his ear and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

Hikaru felt it as a huge weight had been lifted from his heart. He put his hand on Kaoru's shoulder, smiling brightly.

"It's forgotten."

The younger brother smiled back, relief visible in his amber coloured eyes. "So we're fine?"

"Yeah, we're cool." Hikaru grinned.

Kaoru raised one eyebrow. "Cool?" He grinned back. "If you say so. Now let's continue. We can't be late, or Kyouya will curse us."

With that they continued on over the field, side by side. Hikaru walked with a new energy, enjoying the strong winds coming at them, lifting the fabric of their robes and tangling their hair. Far away over the green hills he could make out a narrow slip of deep blue water. Then he realized that he had no idea where they were going.

"Eh Kaoru? Do you know how to get to that fortress thingie?"

The other boy rolled his eyes slightly. "No, I'm just guessing the tunnel is somewhere in this general direction." He snickered as Hikaru glared at him. "Haha yes I do, it's about three hours walk. We're going to those large hills over there. There lies the opening to the secret passage."

Hikaru nodded slowly. "And the fortress used to be yours?" He still found it unbelievable that he could have a normal conversation with Kaoru.

"Mm. It was one of our strongest rebel hideouts. A woman named Benio was the leader."

Benio? The manly girl from Lobelia who was always obsessing over Haruhi? Now a rebel heroine? Actually, it kind of made sense. Hikaru shook his head, instead focusing on the other things Kaoru had said.

"_One_ of your rebel hideouts? You mean there are more rebels than you and Ranka?"

Kaoru nodded. "Oh yes, there are lots of rebels in Zenbi. Our group is the main one though, and Tamaki and Kyouya are the leaders of all of us."

"Really?" Hikaru was beginning to feel more hopeful. "How many are you?"

"We have the main camp in the white mountains, where Ranka went. Then we had the valley-fortress, but not anymore. Apart from those we have three other hideouts. But, all rebels aren't magicians. There are just a few of us. Except from our group there are Ranka, Benio, and two others."

Hikaru hurried his steps to keep up with Kaoru's fast walking. "Benio is a magician? What kind?" The thought of that scary girl with super powers sent chills down Hikaru's spine.

"She's like Mori. But not as good. I don't really like her, she's so irritating…" He scowled.

Hikaru chuckled. "Because she can't keep her hands of Haruhi, right?"

Kaoru's golden eyes widened in surprise. "Why? How did you know that?"

"I've got my ways… Haha no, but that's how she is in my world."

By now all of their previous tension was gone, and the two brothers walked over the hills, chatting about Hikaru's old world. Time flew past, and soon they were climbing over the large hill towards the opening of the tunnel.

"Haha! All of you dressed up like girls? Really?" Kaoru laughed out loud.

Hikaru nodded, chuckling as well. "Hehe yeah, except Mori. It was Tono's idea."

"Of course it was." The younger twin shook his head in mirth. "Your Tamaki at home is almost even more stupid than the one we've got here."

The older twin smiled warmly at his chuckling brother. He had made Kaoru laugh. Suddenly nothing seemed as big and impossible as it did before. Hikaru was on his way to get his twin back. It felt damn good.

Suddenly Kaoru stopped and pointed to some cliffs overgrown with vegetation. "The opening, it's over there."

Before Hikaru could open his mouth to say something a dark shadow curled up towards the sky from the valley beneath.

"What the hell was that?" Hikaru stared at the shadow as it evaporated far above him.

"The signal." Kaoru answered casually. He walked up to the cliffs, examining a crevice covered by briers. Hikaru jogged up to him, still eyeing the sky suspiciously.

"Signal?"

Kaoru started to tear at the malicious plant. "Kyouya's signal to us and Mori and Honey. It's time for the attack, and for us to get past this damn bush."

"But what if we hadn't been here yet? What if you aren't in position when he does the signal?"

"Well then you'd better hurry, wouldn't you?" Kaoru snorted, glaring at the plant as he pulled on a particularly stubborn branch.

The older twin raised one eyebrow. "Why don't you just use your sword?"

Kaoru froze in his battle against the plant. A flush appeared on his cheeks and he glanced at Hikaru, looking sheepish. "Oh yeah… That's a pretty good idea."

He pulled out his sword and slashed apart the briers, ignoring Hikaru's smirk. Soon there was a narrow opening through the bushes and both twins stared into the dark cave.

"Well then, we found it. Now let's go inside." Kaoru stated and immediately climbed in through the opening. Hikaru's eyes widened as the thorns on the sides got stuck in his twin's long hair, and ripped up his black kimono in several places. Hikaru bit his lip and looked worriedly at the thorns. He didn't look forward to getting through there…

"Come on now, we have to hurry." Kaoru had made it inside the cave. He frowned at Hikaru and flipped his ponytail over his shoulder. Hikaru couldn't help but notice a large rip on the torso of his robe, which showed a strip of the smooth skin of his chest and a bit of his collarbone. The older brother tore his eyes away from Kaoru's torso and started to climb into the cave. Immediately a thorn got stuck in his clothes and ripped up a gash over his shoulder.

"Ah fuck… Couldn't you have made a bigger opening?" He glared at his smirking brother.

"Stop your whining, oh thunder god."

Hiding a scowl, Hikaru climbed through the opening and joined Kaoru on the inside. He narrowed his eyes and stared into the darkness. "I can't see a bloody thing in here, you sure it's the right cave?"

"Yeah, it's just a short walk into the mountain, then we should reach the fortress's cellar." Kaoru had already started to walk swiftly into the dark tunnel. Hikaru hurried after him and kept real close as the fade light from the opening quickly diminished. The older twin gnawed his lip as he tried to keep up with Kaoru, feet stumbling in the darkness. He really didn't like rushing in blindness. At least he had an excuse to be close to Kaoru. He enjoyed how the other's hair brushed over his chest now and then and how he could smell his brother's comforting yet alluring scent. Kaoru smelt like green apples, and just a tiny bit of vanilla. Hikaru crept even closer to Kaoru's back and shivered slightly in pleasure as his twin's warmth seeped into him. Then he abruptly tripped over a rock and fell against his brother, letting out a loud yelp.

"Fuck…!"

Kaoru let out a grunt as he was forced to hold up Hikaru's and his own weight. The older brother only had a second to notice how perfect their bodies felt moulded together before he was shoved off roughly.

"Quiet!" Kaoru hissed from somewhere in the darkness. "We are close to the enemy." He whispered, before continuing straight forward. Hikaru could hear him muttering about clumsy world-travellers and loud-mouthed clones for at least five minutes after that.

Just when Hikaru had gotten the hang of how to walk like a blind person, Kaoru stopped. They had reached the end of the tunnel. The younger twin searched the rough stonewall with his hand, finally locating a handle down in the right corner. He turned to Hikaru and pulled a dagger from his belt.

The older twin only heard the metallic sound of a weapon, and tensed. Then he felt the handle of the dagger being placed in his own hand. Kaoru leant close and whispered in his ear.

"The act of assassination, quick version; Don't let them see you, kill quickly and be quiet." His warm breath over Hikaru's skin gave the older boy goose bumps. He nodded quickly and Kaoru got down on his knees in front of the small door. Hikaru heard him turn the handle, and then the door slowly slid open. Cold light fell into the tunnel and glinted in two pairs of golden eyes. Kaoru gracefully made his way through the small door, and then he was gone from Hikaru's sight. Clutching the knife tightly in his hand, Hikaru ducked and climbed out. They had made their way into the fortress.

The older twin looked around quizzically, he was in a storage room it seemed. Barrels of different sizes littered the floor and the walls were covered with shelves. Two torches sat on either side of the entrance to the room and their weak flames were the only sources of light Hikaru could see. Suddenly Kaoru was back in front of him.

"I checked the corridor outside, it's empty." He whispered, slowly shutting the small door behind them. It closed with a discreet "click". Hikaru noticed that it melded into the wall almost perfectly. If he hadn't already known it was there, he wouldn't have seen it. Kaoru gestured Hikaru to follow him and then quickly slipped out through the entrance. Nervous feet slipped slightly on the cold stone floor as Hikaru jogged after Kaoru, still gripping his dagger stiffly. They ran through the long corridor on light feet, their shadows flying over cold floor and walls. When they came to the end of the corridor they heard voices close by. Kaoru halted abruptly and spied around the corner. Two armed men stood arguing on either side of a stairway.

"…by the gates. The rebels are making mince of our defence."

"But the prisoners are down here! If the rebels break through we need men inside."

"Not if we can keep them from getting inside the fortress in the first place." Hikaru smiled to himself, if only the soldiers knew that two enemies already were inside… "So now get up there damn it, before I cut your leg off!"

The other soldier scowled, but grabbed his crossbow tighter and jogged up the stairs. The remaining man sighed deeply and leant against the stonewall, rubbing his temples tiredly. Kaoru motioned for Hikaru to be quiet, before slipping around the corner. Hikaru's breath hitched as he watched Kaoru move towards the muttering man. The trained assassin moved like a cat on the hunt. When the soldier finally discovered the approaching rebel, he only had time to utter a startled gasp before Kaoru's dagger sat lodged deep in his throat. Kaoru snatched the knife back and waved Hikaru over.

"The prisoners are kept in there, in the dungeons." Kaoru whispered, motioning to a big oak door to their right. Hikaru nodded distantly, unable to remove his eyes from the still twitching man. "When we go in you must be ready to fight, there will be more soldiers."

The twins walked over to the broad door and heaved it open. Inside the large room there were two massive cells, filled to the brim with dirty, miserable people. Guarding the prisoners were six soldiers, each holding a heavy sword. Hikaru barely had time to blink before one of the bulky men roared and lunged at them.

"The rebels are inside! Attack!"

As one, Hikaru and Kaoru threw their knives to the side and drew their swords gracefully. The older twin clashed swords with the closest soldier while his brother ran past and stabbed another soldier in the heart. Hikaru made quick work of his opponent, quickly running to Kaoru's side, aiding him in fighting the four remaining soldiers. Back to back, the twins fought two men each. Hikaru cut down one of his, but swore loudly when the remaining one's sword made a long gash in his left thigh.

"Are you alright?" Kaoru called out from behind him, and Hikaru almost felt smug when he heard the poorly concealed worry in his twin's voice.

"Yeah, just a scratch." He yelled back, punishing his attacker by slamming the flat end of his sword hard into the man's forehead. The soldier crashed to the floor the same second Kaoru slit the throat of their last opponent. Hikaru felt oddly proud of himself, he was becoming a real warrior if he could say so himself.

"Good work, partner!" He held out his hand for a high five, but Kaoru had dropped to his knees in front of Hikaru and studied the gash with a deep frown.

"It's a nasty wound, not very deep though." He clucked his tongue and ran slender fingers over Hikaru's thigh. Hikaru tried very hard not to shudder at the light touch. Kaoru on his knees often tended to give his perverted imagination an unnecessary boost. "We will have to take care of that later, or it'll get infected."

A soft female voice brought the twins out of their intimate daze. "Kaoru? Hikaru? Is it really you?"

Kaoru jumped to his feet and walked up to a pretty brunette, who watched them suspiciously from behind the bars.

"Fuyumi!" Kaoru smiled and gripped her hands. "Thank god you're alright."

Hikaru watched how the girl's eyes turned from hesitant to shocked. "It is you!" She gasped and turned to Hikaru. "But how is it possible? He died!"

Kaoru sighed deeply and swept some loose hair away from his face. "I'll explain it to you later. Now we have to get you all out from here." He kneeled next to one of the dead soldiers and snatched his keys. "Your brother and the others are attacking the gate, we need to help them."

While Kaoru busied himself with unlocking one of the cells and helping the prisoners out, Hikaru turned to the other one. The all too familiar face of one tall, grey-eyed girl made him almost let out an unmanly squeak.

"Benio…"

She scowled. "It's Benibara sama to you brat." She looked Hikaru over suspiciously, crossing her arms. "Who are you anyway? A ghost? A third Hitachiin devil?"

"Leave him alone Benio." Kaoru glared menacingly at the much taller woman and bent to open the lock of the second cell. Behind him the already freed prisoners embraced each other and exchanged smiles and hushed words. Hikaru noted that many of the prisoners were young, only children. There was even a small baby in the arms of a thin woman. He shook his head in disgust; the Emperor was a complete asshole.

"Listen everyone," Kaoru's voice rang over the chatter, "Tamaki and Kyouya are leading an attack against the fortress gate, and they need our help. If we charge at the enemy from within, while the others are pushing from outside, the fortress will be ours."

A loud snort echoed through the dungeon. "And how, pretty boy, are you suggesting we fight the soldiers? With our fists? I do have a mean punch, but it won't get far against cold steel." Benio raised one eyebrow and some girls Hikaru also recognized as part of the Lobelia abomination giggled.

Hikaru readied himself to yell at Benio for making fun of his brother, but Fuyumi beat him to it.

"Aren't you a magician Benio?" She asked coldly, glaring at the other girl. "As much as you brag about it, it would be a shame to not make use of it for once."

The giggling girls immediately shut up and Benio opened her mouth to give a retort but before she could say something a little boy spoke up.

"I know where they store weapons master Kaoru." His childish eyes practically gleamed with happiness to be able to help. Kaoru smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "Great! Lead the way."

The armoury was located close to the prison cells, and soon all men and women who were able to fight had been supplied with a weapon. All in all they were twenty rebels ready to fight, more than enough to knock down the enemy's defence. While Kaoru quickly told them about their plan, Hikaru stood glaring at everyone who wouldn't stop staring at him. He heard how they whispered among themselves. _Ghost. Deceiver._ They called him. He scowled and tried his best to ignore them. He had finally made peace with Kaoru and that was all that mattered. Everyone else could go fuck themselves for all he cared. Also, his thigh hurt like a bitch…

Kaoru focused gleaming irises on the rebels and gripped his sword tighter. "Alright. Raikou's rats won't stand a chance. You who're unarmed, stay back and out of fire. Follow us." And as one the warriors moved up the stairs to the courtyard. They spilled out in the sun, shocking the enemy. Outside of the gate, Hikaru could see Kyouya, Tamaki, Honey, Haruhi and Mori fighting. The Emperor's soldiers were caught between two superior forces. Hikaru smirked and stepped out in front of Kaoru and the former prisoners.

"Stay behind me," He raised his hands, drawing electricity out to his fingertips, "I'm going to warm them up for you…"

Kaoru chuckled behind him and Hikaru's vision blackened temporarily as he summoned all his power, aimed and shot an enormous lightning at the frightened soldiers.

O-O-O-O-O

Some hours later, clouds of smoke rose towards the sky from the burning fortress. After having defeated the Emperor's soldiers, gathering up all supplies stored in the cellar and getting all the prisoners to safety, Honey put the former rebel residence on fire. "This place will no longer be of use to us, burn it.", had been Kyouya's harsh words. Benio had been furious.

The rebels had moved to the bottom of the valley, right were all small streams gathered into one and headed out towards the sea. It was a beautiful place, with lots of majestic willows and soft moss that covered the ground.

Hikaru sat on his bedroll, listening lazily to Tamaki, who'd gathered all rebels and were speaking about the upcoming attack on the Emperor. His left thigh was cleaned up and wrapped with bandages. Haruhi had healed the deep gash in no time. On a bedroll next to him sat the Ootori siblings. They were talking in hushed voices to each other, probably plotting another plan. The older twin rested his head on his bent knee and sighed. Once again, Kaoru was nowhere to be seen. He snapped out of his gloomy thoughts when Tamaki's voice gained in strength and power, and rang clear over the sound of streaming water.

"We have been offered a second chance. Through a blessing we now have Hikaru among us once more, and we will be able the face the Emperor in another battle." His blonde hair blew softly around his face, and the violet eyes were filled with determination. "I know we suffered greatly during the last fight, but so did the enemy. They are weak now. The Emperor has no healer and just a fourth of the army he possessed six months ago. This time we can defeat him, I know it." The rebels stared back at him, faces tired but hopeful. Even Benio seemed to have overcome her ire and now listened attentively to the rebel leader. "I want you to split up, head to all of our hideouts and tell the rest of the resistance that the war is coming. In a month, we'll meet in the great forest just west of the main city and the Emperor's palace. We'll set up camp by the deep lake, it's in the middle of the deep forest. We will be impossible to find. From there, we'll move towards the enemy." Haruhi came up beside Tamaki, gripping his hand tight in hers. Tamaki smiled briefly towards her before turning back to his eager listeners.

"I want words about our attack to reach out to every trustworthy farmer in Zenbi, we have the people on our side. This time we have the advantage, the Emperor knows nothing of Hikaru, he won't suspect an attack. This time faith is on our side." Tamaki unsheathed his sword and raised it up to the heavens. "Zenbi will be freed! No more hiding, no more injustice. Raikou's tyranny will be put to an end once and for all, the time has come for the people to own the land!"

The rebels cheered and raised their own weapons towards the sky. Hikaru stared dumbfounded. How the bloody hell had he ended up being the main pawn in a Fantasy war? He really needed to see Kaoru, just to calm down a bit.

"We're going to war Hika-chan! To war!" Honey plopped down next to him, pumping his small fist in the air. Hikaru nodded and smiled nervously, scratching his neck.

"Yeah, it's going to be cool. Have you seen Kaoru Honey?"

The small blonde lowered his fist and looked at Hikaru with sad brown eyes. "He's probably with old Hika-chan. He was buried here, after the last fight. This was one of his and Kao-chan's favourite places."

Hikaru lowered his head in silence. Honey watched him silently for a minute, before patting him on the shoulder, smiling gently. "You should go to him Hika-chan, he needs you." He pointed in the direction of a group of willows standing next to a stream, their long branches hanging down into the crystalline water. "The grave is over there."

He patted Hikaru's shoulder again, before jumping up from the ground and running over to Mori. The older redhead nodded to himself and stood up, wincing as the tender area of his thigh was stretched. He shot a glance at the still cheering, excited rebels, before quietly walking over to the elegant trees. He spotted Kaoru sitting on the ground and immediately stepped in behind a tree. Biting his lip, he leant forward to observe his brother. This was the second time he peeped on Kaoru.

The younger twin was kneeling in front of a great, old-looking willow. In front of the tree was a simple wooden cross, stuck down into the soil. Hikaru pictured Kaoru's beautiful, white marble grave in front of him and his heart cramped painfully when he compared it to the old Hikaru's simple monument.

Kaoru mumbled something quietly and brushed away tears from his cheeks. He gave the cross a small kiss and then stood up. Hikaru decided to make his presence known, he stepped out from behind the tree and cleared his throat awkwardly. Kaoru turned to him, hastily wiping his teary eyes.

"I'm sorry." Hikaru mumbled and nodded towards the grave before looking down on the moss.

Kaoru shuffled his feet and hummed in agreement. "Yes, but I'm going to have to live with it." He smiled shakily. "Anyway, this is what he had wanted. This time we will defeat Raikou, and his sacrifice won't have been for nothing. My loss will not have been in vain."

Red bangs fell down and covered Hikaru's eyes as he blinked away tears. How naïve of him to think that he'd ever be good enough for Kaoru, that he'd someday reach up to the former Hikaru's level. He was just an ordinary, spoilt, teenage boy. He knew nothing of war and misery. There was no hope for the rebels, because he, Hikaru, would fail to be the hero they all deserved.

"Anyway, I believe it's time I gave you this." Kaoru walked over to him, removing a necklace from around his neck. "This was Hikaru's." He held up the medallion, showing it to Hikaru. "You'll have more use of it now than what he will, I want you to take it." Smiling softly he lifted the other redhead's hand and laid the jewel in it.

Hikaru opened the medallion carefully, and Kaoru moved away from him and started to walk back to the others. The older redhead gasped; inside the silver jewel there sat a blue stone. The gemstone was sparkling, almost as if it had some sort of power running through it.

"Wait!" Hikaru yelled and Kaoru paused and looked back over his shoulder at him. "What is this thing? What does it do?" Hikaru asked, showing the beautiful stone to Kaoru.

For a moment the old, mischievous Kaoru was back. He grinned at Hikaru and winked. "That's for you to find out." With that he turned again, the long ponytail swishing in the air as he strolled back to the others. Hikaru frowned and turned his eyes back to the necklace. He closed it and studied the silver covering the outside. Then suddenly, something caught his eye. On the sleek silver surface someone had carved a small symbol. Engraved on the mysterious medallion there was a tiny lightning bolt.

**O-O-O-O-O**

**Can you guess the purpose of the medallion? I've left small clues in earlier chapters!**

**So, we're going to war. Slowly though, there is much left of this story.**

**Answer to Kyofan: Thank you so much dear :D, I'm happy you liked it! Sorry for the not very quick update . Hugs Custard**

**Answer to lotlot: Aaw I like him mean xD. But he has changed over this chapter, you won't see more of the super bitchy Kao! Glad you loved the kiss! There will be more of that in the next chapter ;). Yeah the scar… It will also be explained further on. Thank you for still reading and reviewing a certain silly, lazy FF-author's stories 3. Hugs Custard**

**Answer to Cheshire: I feel so cool when you call me MC xD. Thank you so much for your lovely review :D, made me really happy! Well, this chapter is longer, am I not a good girl? ^^ I hope you're still out there, so you'll see this chapter. I really do love your reviews… : ) Lots of hugs, Custard**

**Answer to Merry: Hehe glad you got my electric hint ;), I think there was another bad elemental joke somewhere in there… Here comes another scene we talked about! Hope you aren't disappointed :D. Hehe you get no hugs….**

**Answer to Natsumi217: Thank you so very much, I'm really glad you liked it and left me a little review : ). Hugs Custard**

**Also… I can't believe how many reviews you gave me for the last chapter. Really people, I'm unworthy. It means so much to me that you take your time to leave a few words. You're the best readers a hobby-writing student could ask for. And, if I take long between updates, like now , please don't think that I have abandoned the story. If I decide to abandon anything, I'll write it on my profile. And I'm not planning on leaving this little tale, even if it's really hard to write sometimes, because I really want to tell you all this story. **

**I can't tell you when chapter 11 will be out, I haven't started writing it yet. I can tell you that I won't let it take two months. I would not be able to return if I took so long to update a second time… Well, if you enjoyed this chapter, and still are lurking out there, please let me know!**

**Love**

**/Midnight Custard**


End file.
